Somewhere To Go
by parsda
Summary: Steph makes a plan to run.
1. Chapter 1

Somewhere To Go

Stephanie sat on her couch, staring out the window. The television was on, but she was not paying attention to the movie that was playing. Her thoughts were running laps around her brain and she couldn't keep up. She was out of it so much that she didn't hear her door opening. Neither did she hear him walking in nor sit down next to her, not even when he started speaking.

"Babe, are you okay? You seem to be off in your own world. I just broke into your apartment and walked up to you and you didn't flinch. What's going on in that beautiful mind of yours?"

Steph sat there, still staring out the window, but didn't say anything.

"Babe, you in there?" He waved his hand in front of her face and she finally blinked and noticed him sitting there.

"Ranger, when did you get here?"

He chuckled and just dropped a kiss on her forehead. "Deep thoughts Babe? I stopped by to tell you that I need to go out of town on a job and I'm not sure how long I'll be gone. Tank and the guys are here if you need them, and will help you with any skips that you need help with, so please contact them and stay safe. I worry about you."

"You're leaving? Where are you going? When will you be back? Does Julie know you're leaving?"

"Whoa, slow down. Yes, I'm leaving, that's why I'm here. I can't tell you where I'm going or when I'll be back. And, yes, I've already talked to Julie. I'm taking off in a bit and heading to see her for a day before I leave the country. I wish I had more time to spend with you Babe."

"Ranger, it's okay, I guess I'll see you when you get back."

He stared at her for a moment and then got up and walked to the door and then turned around, walking back to her, pulling her into his arms. He kissed her and held onto her for a minute. "I'll miss you Babe. We need to talk when I get back." And with that, he walked out the door and out of her life for now. She knew that when he left for these "jobs", he could be gone for weeks, months or even over a year. Sometimes she feared he would not return someday.

She sat back down on the couch and wiped at the tears that were falling down her face. She knew that his guys were there to help her, but she didn't think they could help with her current problem. She didn't know who to turn to, but she knew she needed help.

She walked into her bedroom and started to go through all of her belongings, sorting out what to give away and what to take with her. She was leaving Trenton, no clear destination in mind, but she knew that she couldn't stay here, not when Ranger was gone and not around to support her. She didn't know who to talk to, but she wasn't just going to leave without telling someone. She didn't want people to think she'd been kidnapped or was dead.

A week later, she loaded up her car, and went back into lock up and she dropped the key in an envelope and left it on the kitchen counter. She'd written a short note, telling the building manager to rent her apartment, she wasn't returning. She'd also written a couple other notes and would drop them off on her way out of town. She buckled Rex's cage in the backseat and climbed in her car. It's wasn't a great car, but it was in good enough shape to get her out of town.

She turned onto Hayward and parked in front of the building. She was leaving her key fob inside and didn't want to have to deal with the guys letting her out of the gated garage. She walked inside and headed to the elevator. Hal was working the front desk and he smiled at her and unlocked the elevator for her. "Ranger's already left town if you're looking for him." "That's okay, I just need to drop something off in his apartment."

She smiled back and headed up to 7th floor, to Ranger's apartment. She unlocked the apartment door and walked in. She walked into the bedroom and left the envelope on his pillow. She knew that no one would disturb it until he returned. She walked into the bathroom and pulled a couple bottles of his shower gel out of the cabinet and also grabbed all of the things she'd left behind from her previous visits. She pulled a duffle bag out of his closet and put everything inside, including a couple of his shirts. She even pulled the two out of the laundry hamper that still smelled like him. She walked to the apartment door and dropped her keys in the bowl on the side table. She wouldn't need them anymore. She got in the elevator and headed down to the control room.

The guys all gave her a quick hello when she got out and she dropped another note off on Lester's desk. She'd grown the closest to Lester and knew that he would let the others know she was okay. She was walking back to the elevator when Bobby stopped her. "Hey Steph, what brings you by?"

"I was just picking up some of the clothes I left behind in Ranger's apartment. Now that he's gone, I'll probably not be around here much and wanted to get my stuff."

Bobby looked at her and guided her down the hall and into his office. He shut the door behind them and pushed her down in a chair. He pulled a lollypop out of his desk drawer and handed it to her. "Bobby?" "You look like you could use it. I keep them around for Lester, anytime he needs stitches, he fidgets like a little kid. A lollypop keeps him occupied so I can get him put back together. Want to tell me what's really going on?"

"What do you mean? I'm picking up my stuff and was heading out when you kidnapped me."

"Baby, it's okay to be upset that Ranger's gone. I know he stopped by to see you, he always does, but you've never picked up your stuff before from the building. In fact, when he's been gone in the past, you're around the building more often. You can talk to me."

"Bobby, thanks for the lollypop, but I need to get going. I'll check in with you guys while Ranger's gone so don't worry about me." She got up and left his office before he could stop her. He followed her out and watched her get in the elevator and leave.

He stopped at the monitors and watched the feed from the elevator, watching her wipe the tears away from her face. He called down to Hal to keep her down there in case she got down to the ground floor before he did. He turned towards the stairs and set off down, at a brisk pace. He opened the door to the front desk at the same time the elevator opened up. She looked surprised to see him and started to get a panicked look on her face.

"Steph, I can't let you leave. Hal?"

Before she could respond, Hal locked down the building. Steph tried the door, but it was locked. She turned to the elevator, but it wouldn't open, nor would the doorway to the stairs. She turned around to face Bobby and he saw the tears streaming down her face. With a choked whisper, she said, "Bobby, please let me leave. I have to leave, I need to get out of here."

Bobby pulled her into his arms and she clung to him, sobbing. He looked at Hal, nodded towards the elevator and said "Stop on 4, please." He guided her into the elevator and the doors closed behind them. It stopped on the 4th floor, where the employee apartments were and he unlocked his door. He helped her inside and put her on the couch. She was still sobbing and was starting to look panicked again.

"Easy Baby, I'm here to help you. You need to talk to me."

"Bobby, I need to leave town. I can't stay here if Ranger is gone. They'll talk if they know about it and I won't be able to deal with everything if I stay."

"Where are you going to go? Do you have a plan or are you just going to drive around aimlessly? Why do you need to leave?"

"Bobby, I can't tell you. I don't want anyone to know where I'm going, I don't know where I'm going, but I need to leave. I have to find somewhere to go."

"Steph, who's going to talk, what are they going to talk about? Let me help you. Please."

Stephanie sat and thought about it. She needed someone to help her, but she hadn't planned on it being one of Ranger's guys. She looked at him and said, "I can't tell you the reason yet, but if you can help me get out of town and somewhere else, I'll tell you everything. I'm going to need someone to help me and while I didn't want it to be one you guys, you're probably my best chance of survival once I leave here."

Bobby looked at her and said, "Okay, let me make some calls and I'll be back in a few minutes. Stay here and don't leave. Hal has orders and won't let you out of the building." He walked into his bedroom, already punching numbers in on his phone. Steph sat back on the couch and slumped down in resignation. She was going off half-assed, again, without any thought of direction or plan.

Bobby walked back into the living room about 10 minutes later and had a bag with him, as well as his medical bag. He set them down on the floor next to the door and walked over to her. "Are you ready to go?"

"Bobby?"

"I'm going to take care of you Steph and help you, but if we're getting you out of town, we need to leave now before any of the guys figure out what's going on."

She stood up and walked to the door with him. He opened it and they got in the elevator and headed for the garage. He led her to a car that was covered and when he pulled the cover off, she let out a gasp. It was a convertible and not just any convertible. He told her it was a 1969 Porsche 911 convertible. He loaded his bags and then put her in the car. He asked about her bags and she told him that she parked on the street in front of the building. He drove out of the garage and parked behind her car. Quickly, he got everything out of her car, except for Rex. He told her that there wasn't room for Rex and he'd get Hal to take care of him, but she insisted, he squeezed his cage in the very small space behind her seat. There was no back seat in the car, but just enough empty space for Rex. He took her keys inside and gave them to Hal with the orders to put it in the garage where his car had been.

He drove down the street and looked over at her. She was staring out the window, not saying anything. "Steph? I'm going to take you home, okay?"

"Bobby, I gave up my apartment, I don't have a home anymore."

"Not your apartment, but to my home. My hometown, where my mom still lives. We're going to stay with her for a bit and see what we can get figured out for you, okay?"

"Sure, I have nowhere else to go. I had no definite plans, I just needed out of New Jersey."

"Sit back and relax because it will take about two days of driving to get there. We'll stop in a few hours for the night. I took some of my vacation time that's been accumulating for years, so don't worry about how long it takes. I have months of time accumulated."

She didn't say anything and he looked over at her and she was sound asleep. "Poor kid", he thought. Whatever was causing this need to flee had exhausted her. He turned the radio on softly and drove west.

Bobby stopped for gas and food outside of Harrisburg, PA, and still, Steph slept. He grabbed some drinks and food for her and dropped it on the floor by her feet. He continued driving until he reached the outskirts of Wheeling, WV. He pulled into a hotel's parking lot and got out and went inside. He came out and got back in the car and moved it into the parking lot. He put the car in park and gently woke up Steph. "Baby, we're stopping for the night. Let's get our bags, I've got a room for us."

Steph struggled to wake up and slowly got out of the car. She grabbed Rex and her bags. Bobby got his bags and the bag of food from the car and led her inside. They took the elevator to the 10th floor and found the room. It had two beds and a small balcony that looked out to a wooded area behind the hotel. Steph dropped her bags on one of the beds and put Rex on the desk. She headed into the bathroom and shut the door.

Bobby took out his phone and sent a text to Tank. Tank was the only one at Rangeman who knew what was going on. Bobby had to clear the time off with him and let him know of his whereabouts in case something came up and he was needed back at work. He just let him know they stopped for the night and would be leaving early in the morning. He was hoping to get the rest of the way to his mom's, but he wasn't sure is Steph could handle the long drive. He knew something was up medically, but wasn't sure what it was, she looked ill to him, but he wasn't going to push her for information. He hoped they would talk the next day while driving and she would confide in him. He got a short reply from Tank, just letting him know that Lester found the note Steph left and he was running all over Trenton looking for her. She must have told him she was leaving and he was driving them all crazy trying to find her. He told Tank to put a stop to it, but not let on that he was involved.

Steph came out of the bathroom and Bobby pulled her into his arms and just held her. She was softly crying again, but not as much as earlier in the day. He pulled back a bit so he could see her face. "Baby, let's get you something to eat and drink and then we'll talk."

He handed her the bag of food and picked up the phone and ordered meals for both of them. She shared some of the food with Rex who thanked her with twitch of his whiskers and a butt wiggle and then headed back into his soup can.

She opened her bag of clothes and the smell of Ranger overwhelmed her. Bobby caught the scent and smiled at her. "Go ahead and shower. Dinner will be about half hour."

She grabbed one of Ranger's shirts and a bottle of the shower gel and headed back into the bathroom. Once he heard the shower running, he did a quick run through of her bags, but found nothing that would explain things to him. He'd have to wait for her to talk.

She opened the shower door and the smell of the shower gel came pouring into the room. Bobby smiled at her and said, "You miss him, don't you?"

"You have no idea Bobby. I'll explain things to you after we eat, I promise."

Room service came and dropped off their meals and they both eat without too much talking. Bobby collected the empty plates and put them on the tray and put it in the hallway. He led her to one of the beds and sat down across from her and waited.

She looked up at him, let out a big sigh, and started talking. She told him about her failed marriage, on and off again relationship with Joe Morelli and then, smiling, told him about her relationship with Ranger. Even though they didn't call it a relationship, she knew that's what they had, and she was hoping it would continue after he returned. She just couldn't stand the thought of being in Trenton while he was gone and knew she had to turn her life around and show him when he returned, if he returned. She teared up at this point, and Bobby pulled her into another hug. "He'll come home Baby, I promise. I know he doesn't tell you what he does when he leaves, but I know about this job, and it's not a bad one. It should be about 6 to 8 months of time away, but he will come home from it."

He knew she still wasn't telling him everything, but he didn't push her. "We should get to sleep. I want to leave early in the morning. We still have a long way to drive tomorrow, I would like to get all the way there, but if we don't get all the way, we'll stop again for the night."

He tucked her in under the blankets on the bed and went into the bathroom to shower. When he came out, she looked at him and had tears in her eyes again. "Bobby, will you sleep with me? I don't want to be alone."

"Sure honey, let me get changed and I'll be there." He plugged his phone in to charge and put his gun on the bedside table next to the phone. He got into bed with her and pulled her into his arms and held her. He could feel her relax and could hear her breathing even out. How she could be so tired after sleeping all the way across Pennsylvania, he didn't know. He eventually drifted off to sleep, with his arms wrapped around her, thinking that Ranger was a lucky man.

He woke up a few times during the night feeling smothered. Each time, Stephanie was almost all the way on top of him and was quietly snoring. He gently rolled her off of him and went back to sleep. When he woke up in the morning, she wasn't in bed. The bathroom door was closed, but he could hear her in there. He got up and went to the door and knocked. "Steph, are you okay?"

She mumbled something and he carefully opened the door. She was collapsed on the floor in front of the toilet and had been getting sick. He knelt down next to her and pulled her hair out of the way. "Better?" She nodded and he helped her stand up. He walked her back to bed and got in behind her and pulled her in his arms. "Steph?" She wouldn't look at him, but did take his hand and put it on her stomach. "Bobby, meet your honorary niece or nephew." Bobby didn't say anything at first, just held her and kissed the top of her head. "Oh, baby, is this why you left town?"

"Bobby, I couldn't stay in that town and be a single mom. I didn't want to hear the gossip about the baby's father or see the disapproving looks. I had to get away and start my life, and this baby's life over, somewhere that people don't know me or won't judge me."

"Steph, is Ranger the father?"

Steph didn't say anything at first. She started crying again and said, "Yes, the baby is Ranger's and no, he doesn't know about it. I was trying to find out a way to tell him, but then he told me he was leaving town and didn't know when he'd be back. I didn't want him to skip out on the job and get in trouble so I chose not to tell him. If he comes back, and still wants something to do with me, I'll tell him then. Please don't judge me."

"Baby, I would never judge you and I will help you with the baby. One of my best friends from home still lives there and is an obstetrician. I'll call her when we get to my mom's house and get you in for an appointment. How far along are you?"

"I don't know. My cycles have never been normal and thinking back, it's been about three months since I had one. The morning sickness has been going on for about two weeks and is just getting worse. I've been taking some vitamins I bought, but know that I need better ones from a doctor. Oh god, what will your mom think when I show up with you and am pregnant?"

"Don't worry about my mom. She loves babies and will love you because of who you are. Let me explain it to her after we get there and I'll guarantee she'll be there for you, helping with anything you need, answering questions about the pregnancy and baby, anything you need, mama will do. We should probably get up and get on the road. We have a long way to go yet."

"Ok, I'll get dressed and packed up." She started walking into the bathroom again, but stopped and turned around to face him. "By the way, where are we and where are we going?"

Bobby started laughing. "I was wondering when you'd ask! We are outside of Wheeling, WV and are headed to a small town in Iowa. We have about 700 miles to drive and if possible, I'd like to do it all today."

They checked out and loaded up the car. Steph made sure that Rex had plenty of food and water before putting him in the small space in the back of her seat. Bobby chuckled at her and told her that her parenting skills were spot on! They laughed about it and started driving.

By the time they got to Indianapolis, IN, Steph was going stir crazy. She loved this car, but it was too small for this far of a drive. She needed space and her fidgeting was starting to get on Bobby's last nerve. He pulled off the interstate and stopped at a Waffle House. She looked at him and grinned. She jumped out of the car and practically ran into the restaurant. Bobby trailed behind and they sat down in a booth. Steph was almost drooling over the menu, she couldn't decide what to get.

Bobby ordered a waffle and a cup of coffee. Steph just looked at him and shook her head. "Look at these choices and that's all you get?" She then proceeded to convince the waitress to get her two full waffles with different toppings on each side, so a total of four toppings on two waffles. She also ordered hash browns, bacon and sausage, plus a coke to drink. Bobby shook his head at her and just chuckled. The waitress even laughed. When the food came, Steph pulled her phone out and took a picture. "No one will believe me if I tell them about all of this." She dug in and started eating. She was about halfway through when a man came out of the kitchen and stopped by their booth. He was one of the cooks and wanted to meet the person who ordered such a crazy amount of food. Bobby said she was pregnant, and he just smiled and said he understood. Somehow, Steph finished all of her food. When they went to pay, the waitress handed Stephanie a bag and said it's from the cooks. She looked inside and found a chocolate cream pie. She yelled her thanks and they headed out to the car.

They got back in the car and headed down the road. It was getting dark when they hit the Iowa boarder. Bobby told her it would be about two more hours and she promptly fell asleep. Bobby pulled into his mom's driveway and parked the car. The front door opened and his mom came running out. He got out of the car and pulled her in for a hug. "Oh Bobby, I've missed you so much." "Me too mom, me too."

He woke Steph up and helped her out of the car. "Mom, this is my friend Stephanie. Steph, this is my mom Elaine." Elaine pulled Stephanie into her arms and hugged her. "Bobby told me a bit about you, but I look forward to hearing about you. Let's go inside and let Bobby carry in your bags. Bobby take her bags to your brother's room next to your room. Now, let's get you something to drink." She walked Steph into the house and steered her into the kitchen while Bobby brought everything inside. He dropped the bags in the bedrooms and brought Rex into the kitchen. He set the cage on the counter and Rex popped his head out of his can. Steph gave him a bit of the cookie she was eating and Elaine came over to coo over Rex. He did the appropriate amount of twitching and wiggling and the headed back into his can. Bobby joined them for cookies and tea and just relaxed. He was glad to be home, it'd been too long since his last visit.

After a bit, he noticed that Stephanie was started to nod off to sleep. He woke her up and helped her to the bedroom. He showed her around and made sure to point out the bathroom that was directly across the hall from her bedroom. He showed her where his room was and told her to get him anytime of the night if she needed him. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and went into the bathroom. Once she was settled into her room, he headed down the stairs and sat with his mom in the living room.

"Bobby, is she okay? Something seems off about her. I know she's not your girlfriend, but I can see you worry about her and care a great deal about her."

Bobby sat for the next hour and filled his mom in on Steph's life and why she left Trenton. Elaine sat and shook her head. "Imagine, feeling like you don't belong because of a baby. I can't wait to take her into town and do some baby shopping. Once she gets over the morning sickness, she'll start feeling better about the baby."

They said good night to each other and both headed to bed. Bobby got changed and softly opened Steph's door and found her sitting at the window, staring off into the fields. He walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. She glanced back at him and leaned against him. "I couldn't fall asleep. Can you stay with me again?" He smiled at her and said, "Can you keep your hands to yourself tonight?" She laughed and said she'd try. He went and closed her door and got into bed with her. He pulled her to him so her back was against his chest. His arm came around her and he rested it gently on her stomach. She put her hand on top of his and said, "Goodnight peanut. Mommy loves you." "So does Uncle Bobby and so does your daddy. You know he will Steph." She didn't say anything, just nodded and eventually fell asleep.

The next morning, Steph bolted straight up in bed. "What the hell was that?" Before Bobby could answer, she jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom and started heaving. He sighed and followed her to help. He pulled her hair out of the way like he did the previous day and looked up to see his mom in the doorway. "Poor girl, it's the awful part of this amazing process. I'll go put some tea on for her." She eventually stopped heaving and just stayed on the floor, leaving against Bobby for a few minutes. He helped her up and she brushed her teeth. "God, I wish this part was over." He led her down to the kitchen and set her down at the table. Elaine brought a cup of tea over and piece of dry toast. "I'll get you a pack of crackers to leave in your room for tomorrow morning. Eat a couple of them before you even sit up in bed and that will hopefully settle things for you."

"Bobby, what was that noise that woke me up? It sounded like something screeching?"

He started laughing and said, "It's just one of the roosters, he's probably roaming around the yard, I'll introduce you later." She looked at him and laughed. "You have roosters?" "Yep, roosters, hens, ducks, a couple horses, a few cows, and a dog." Elaine piped in, "don't forget about Chester." Bobby added, "And Chester the cat. I think he's responsible for the cat population in the entire area, he's such a horny thing." They all laughed and Bobby promised that he'd show her around the farm later on in the day. He got up and headed out to help with the chores in the barn.

"I hope you don't mind that Bobby told me about your situation. I more or less forced him to tell me. Mother's guilt, you'll learn how to use it."

"Oh, I grew up with mother's guilt. My mother is the queen of guilty laying."

"Does your family know about the baby?"

"No, only Bobby and now you know. He said he was going to call a friend who was an obstetrician and get me in for an appointment."

"Oh, that's Sarah. They were best friends growing up, her family situation wasn't the best so she spent a lot of time over here. She grew up just down the road on another farm. They ended up going to college together until he joined the Army. She's a lovely girl, you'll most likely end up being one of her best friends as well. If you are important to Bobby, then you'll be important to her."

By the time Bobby came in from outside, Steph had showered and gotten dressed. She'd put some of clothes away in the closet and set her stuff up in the bathroom. Bobby smiled when he saw the multiple bottles of Ranger's shower gel. He showered and caught up with her downstairs. His mom was sitting in the living room with Steph and had pulled out the photo albums. He groaned as he walked over to Steph and she laughed at him. "You were such a pretty boy Bobby. You should wear a dress and heels more often."

"Mama, I can't believe you showed her that picture. I've told you to get rid of it. It was for Halloween Steph. All of my friends dressed up like girls. It was the one time, that's it."

They were both laughing at him and he pulled Steph up and said, "I got you an appointment with Sarah and we need to head out now. Mama, I'll stop at the store on the way home and stock up. Once Steph starts eating, she won't stop until she explodes. Did you show her to picture of your breakfast? She ate it all and then ate an entire pie that they gave her."

Bobby and Steph climbed into his car and headed towards town. It took about 20 minutes to get there and he drove to a small office building across the parking lot of the hospital. He walked her inside, saying hello to people he knew along the way. He gave Steph's name to the receptionist and in a few minutes, a beautiful woman came running out into the waiting room. She threw herself at Bobby and he caught her in a hug and spun her around. He set her back down and introduced her to Steph, it was Sarah, or Dr. Sarah as she said to call her. She walked them back to an exam room and she asked Steph if it was okay for Bobby to stay. She nodded and then they left her to change clothes. They knocked and she let them back in the room. Steph was sitting on the table and Bobby sat on one of the chairs in the exam room. Sarah started off with the normal round of questions and when she got to the date of your last period, Bobby started laughing. He explained her situation and Sarah gave her a cup and pointed to the bathroom. She brought the cup out and Dr. Sarah handed it off to the lab technician. She pulled in the ultrasound machine and screen and had Bobby helped her get it set up.

She had Steph lay back on the exam table and put her feet in the stirrups. Bobby moved to stand behind her head so Steph wouldn't feel uncomfortable with him in the room. After the physical exam, Dr. Sarah pulled out the fetal Doppler and moved it around until she found the baby's heartbeat. Within seconds, the room was filled with the sound of the baby's heart beating. Steph teared up and Bobby dropped a kiss on her forehead. Dr. Sarah raised an eyebrow at him and he shook his head. He'd explain everything to her later. She set the Doppler down and picked up the ultrasound wand. Bobby turned on the monitor and she started moving it around, locating the baby. Bobby was watching the screen and let out a small gasp, which caused Stephanie to ask what was going on. Dr. Sarah looked at the screen and said, "Well, you're definitely pregnant. In fact, you're doubly pregnant. Stephanie, you're having twins." She did some measurements and figured out that Stephanie was about 10 weeks pregnant.

Bobby looked at her in time to see her head drop to the side. She'd fainted as soon as she heard about the twins. Dr. Sarah smiled at him and pulled a smelling salt package out and handed it to him. He broke it open and waved it under Steph's nose. She jerked her head up and saw Bobby. "Twins? Oh god, Bobby, it's not just one baby, but two. I can't do this. I change my mind. I don't want to be pregnant, you do it."

She was babbling and knew it. He just let her talk and eventually she ran out things to say. "Steph, we'll get you through this and you know, you're going to need to tell Ranger. You need him more now than ever. If things go as planned on his job, he'll be back in Trenton by the time you hit 9 months. You need him with you."

"Bobby, I can't think of that yet. There's no way to get a hold of him until he's back so we'll deal with that later. Right now, I need to get my head around the fact that there's two peanuts in there, not just one."

Dr. Sarah looked at them and said, "Bobby, you have some explaining to do to me. You're not the father of the babies?"

He said he'd talk to her later and explain everything, but right now he needed to get Steph back home. They set up her next appointment and headed out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

Bobby drove her around the town and pointed out some of the spots he frequented as a kid. She was amazed by the quaintness of the small town, it was so different than Trenton. This looked like the perfect all-American town. He even verified that they held an annual 4th of July parade and carnival. It looked like she would be in town when this happened and he promised to take her to it. He pulled into the grocery store's parking lot and they got out and went inside. He pushed a cart and she piled food into it. He laughed at her choices, but she just glared at him. "Oh Baby, you've got that mean mom face down already!" They filled up the cart and headed to the checkout. Once the groceries were paid and bagged, the store clerk followed them to the car and helped load the groceries into the trunk of the car. He drooled a bit over the car and made small talk with Bobby about it. The Porsche was not a typical car in this town.

While they were driving towards the farm, he filled her in what it was like growing up in this small town, the only black kid for about 30 miles. He told her he was adopted when he was a baby and there were a few difficult moments when he was in high school, but for the most part, he had no issues. He joked with her that she hadn't mentioned it last night, but she said that it never occurred to her to bring up. She said she knew his father had passed, so she just assumed he was the reason behind Bobby's beautiful chocolate skin. He laughed and said that his father was just as pale as his mother. They had tried for many years to have children but it never happened for them. They adopted Bobby and then a few years later, they adopted his younger brother. She looked at him in question and he laughed. "Brian is from an Asian family so he looks as out of place as I do."

He went onto say that the community has changed since he moved on and there are a few more people who in his words, were just like him and his brother. People from the closest college town, which was about 30 miles away, had started to appreciate the small farm town lifestyle and were moving to this town and others in the area. They pulled into the driveway and he got out and helped her out of the car. They both grabbed the grocery bags and headed into the kitchen. She helped him put away the groceries and pulled out some food to make lunch. She wasn't much of a cook, but she could make a mean grilled cheese sandwich and put together a salad. Bobby headed out to the barn to make sure things were under control and then came back a few minutes later with his mom. They all sat down for lunch and his mom finally broke the silence and asked about the appointment.

Bobby laughed and Steph just rolled her eyes at him. She looked at his mom and said, "Well, I'm definitely pregnant. So pregnant that it multiplied and there are two of them in there."

Elaine got up and hugged Steph and wiped the tears away from her eyes. "Oh, twins, what a blessing for you and your young man. Bobby told me a bit last night and it didn't surprise me one bit. Over the past few years, he's told me about your adventures and your relationship with Carlos. Such a nice young man, he was here a couple times over the years. Such a hard worker with the farm chores he insisted on helping with and such a looker, too." Steph laughed, but Bobby looked mortified. "Mama, please don't talk that way about my friends. Ranger is close enough to me to be a brother and you talking about him like he was dessert, just about makes me want to throw up."

After lunch, Steph went up to take a nap and Bobby spent some time with his mom. He filled her on Ranger's absence right now and that he didn't know about Steph being pregnant, let alone pregnant with twins. She told him that Carlos needed to know as soon as possible, as she knew from the way he talked about Steph that he loved her. Bobby looked surprised, but she said that last year, after he returned from a bad job out of the country, he contacted her and asked if he could spend some time on the farm. He didn't want the guys to know where he was because he needed some time to be alone and wind down from the job, so he showed up and said that he'd not contacted anyone in Trenton that he was stateside, and spent almost two weeks here. They'd had some really good talks about life and he confessed his feelings about Stephanie. He wanted to marry her but first he had to end his military career, which still had about two years left on his current contract. Bobby did the math in his head and said, "This might be his last job, then, right?" Elaine agreed and said she hoped he would be back before babies were born.

The next few weeks progressed too quickly for Bobby. He knew he was going to have to head back to Trenton soon, but he knew that Steph needed to stay. With Ranger still out of the country, there was no way she would be able to handle going back. She was helping Elaine with what she could do in the house and she spent a lot of time outside learning about the farm. She now knew about the farm equipment that the hired help used and Bobby was teaching her about the corn and soybeans that grew in the fields. She'd made friends with one of the horses and she almost always spent about an hour a day with the horse. She'd feed him apples and brush him. She'd talk to him like he was her therapist and even though the horse couldn't talk to her, as Bobby watched from a short distance, it seemed that the horse understood her troubles.

"Steph, do you have some time to talk to me about a few things tonight after supper?"

"Sure, no problem. Just come to my room after we eat."

After supper, they headed to Steph's room and both sat on the bed. Bobby looked at her and didn't know how to approach the subject, but in the end, he just blurted out, "I have to go back to Trenton next week."

She looked at him and nodded. "Steph, I've talked to mom and you are welcome to stay here with her or you can come back to Trenton with me. Now, before you start, let me finish. If you choose to stay here, I would need to do a bit of updating to your background so you are not trackable by anyone in Trenton. You are still on Rangeman's health insurance so right now, anyone could track the activity on your plan and see exactly where you are, based on your doctor's appointments."

She just nodded at him so he continued. "I know you're going to need something to do to keep you busy while you await Robert and Roberta's arrival, so I can set you up as a contract worker for Rangeman and send you searches to do from here, we'll just give you a different name to work under. I can get your insurance updated to the new name as well."

She laughed and said, "There is no way I am naming my children Robert and Roberta. Seriously, Bobby, what kind of crazy do you think I am? Wait, don't answer that question. If your mom will let me stay, I'd like to stay with her for a bit longer and then maybe find someplace to rent in town, so I'm closer to the hospital. I'd like to continue working to have an income and get things I need for the babies. I do have a bit saved up, but didn't think about withdrawing it before I left Trenton. I suppose I could have a new bank transfer it for me, but that would leave a trail."

"Baby, give me a few days to get things set up, but for now, let's plan a trip to town in the morning and see what we can get arranged. I'll leave you and the munchkins to get some sleep." He dropped a kiss on her head and walked out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

He walked into his bedroom and pulled out his phone. He'd gotten another text from Lester, asking when he'd be back and if he'd found anything out about Steph. Tank was doing a good job leading Lester down the wrong trails he made up for Steph's departure from Trenton. He called Tank and told him what he needed and Tank promised he'd get on the job. He did say that he'd probably have to involve Hector, as he has the best hacking skills of any of them. Bobby reluctantly agreed and said he'd call again tomorrow. He got into bed and thought about the confrontation that was sure to happen with Hector.

The next day they spent in town and ventured to the nearby college town. Bobby let Steph loose at the shopping mall with one of his credit cards he insisted that she use. She was starting to get a baby bump and would need new clothes for herself and he wanted her to get a few things for the baby. He headed to the electronics store and bought her a new cell phone with a different number and a laptop. He also got some equipment to update the internet connection at the house. Steph would need it to be able to run the search programs for Rangeman. He caught up with her at the food court and even though he'd only been gone from her for an hour, she was overflowing with shopping bags. "I still need to hit a couple more stores, but the babies were hungry so I decided to take a break. Can't starve the children."

Bobby laughed and after her snack, he walked with her until she stopped in front of Victoria Secret. He started shaking his head and said, "There is no way I'm going in this store. Give me the bags and I'll take them to the car." She laughed but handed over the bags. She finished up and met him at the car. They headed over for her next doctor's appointment with Dr. Sarah.

The appointment went very well, they were able to pick out both of the heart beats this time and the ultrasound showed that they were progressing on schedule. Dr. Sarah did mention that things would be happening faster for her since she was cooking two babies, but just follow common sense with things and to make sure she took a nap whenever she felt tired. The morning sickness was almost gone but she was tired a lot of the time. Dr. Sarah warned it would only get worse as the pregnancy advanced. Steph headed out to make her next appointment and to update them with her new cell number while Bobby talked to Dr. Sarah and told her that he was going to have to head back to Trenton and she shouldn't be surprised when some of Stephanie's records were updated with a new name. He promised to keep in touch with her and he said he'd be coming back more often while Steph was here.

They headed home and filled Elaine in on all they had done. Bobby had decided to fly back instead of drive and was leaving his car with Steph. He made her swear on the babies that she wouldn't wreck his car, as it was his baby. She laughed and promised to do her best, but she couldn't make any promises. He drove to the airport the next morning and Steph went with him and then hopefully manage to drive herself back to the house. Their goodbye was sad at the airport and to anyone looking at them, it was apparent that they cared for each other and would be missing the other once he left. He promised to call her when he get into Trenton and to keep her up to date on things. He went through security and then was gone. Steph wiped her tears and headed for home.

The next week went by quickly even though she missed having Bobby around the house. Elaine was trying to teach her to knit a baby blanket, but after the second day, she gave up and said she'd do it and it would be her gift to the babies. Steph logged onto the new laptop and decided to check her old email before closing out the account. Bobby had set her up with a new Rangeman email account using her new name he came up with. Michelle Sandman was her new name. Michelle is her middle name and Bobby said he picked Sandman because of the old song about the girls singing Mr. Sandman bring me a dream, since she slept so much. She just rolled her eyes when she read this in the text he had sent and reminded her that she was from the south, near the Atlanta office, but was working from home due to a disability. This helped her so no one from the Atlanta office questioned why she wasn't in the office.

She opened her old email address and discovered that Lester had sent two emails every day since she left Trenton. She started reading the oldest and by the time she had worked her way up to the one from this morning, she was crying. The first few emails were just asking general questions about her leaving and asking her to call. By the end of them, he was begging her to get a hold of him. He thought she was dead. She needed to talk to him and sent Bobby a text. He called her a few minutes later and she told him she needed to talk to Lester. He said he'd work on it and let her know.

The next day, Steph's phone rang and the same time there was knock at the door. Elaine had gone to town so Steph went to the door. It was a Fed Ex man with a package for her. She signed for it and answered her phone. "Bobby, I just got a package delivered. I assume it's from you?"

"Yep Baby, it's a phone that you can keep to call Lester. It's not traceable, as the signal will bounce from tower to tower, all across the country. I had a little bit of help getting it set up so now Hector knows that I know where you are. He doesn't have a location on you as of now, but don't be surprised if you eventually hear from him. Please call Lester as soon as you can, he's driving everyone nuts."

"Will do. Thank you Bobby for the phone, and for everything. I wouldn't have made it this far without you."

Steph hung up from Bobby and pulled out the new phone. It had one number programmed into it and it was Lester's. She hit the button to call him and he answered immediately. "Hey Les, how's it going?"

"Beautiful? Oh my god, it's you. Where are you? Why did you leave? When are you coming back? Don't you miss us? You need to come home."

When he finally stopped asking questions, she started talking. "Les, I can't tell you where I am, but be assured that I'm safe. I needed to leave town. I couldn't be there with Ranger gone for so long. It's different this time without him being in Trenton. I can't tell you why it's different, so don't even ask. I won't be coming back to Trenton not now, maybe not ever. I do miss you and the guys, but I need to be away right now."

They talked for about an hour. He filled her in on his searches for her and she told him she was in good health and with a friend. She said she'd call him once a week if that would help him feel better and he made her promise. They ended the call with their usual sarcastic remarks and a big kissy sound on the phone. She hung up the phone and immediately felt better. She sent Bobby and text that just said "Thank You".

The next few months went by quickly. Elaine took over Bobby's role and went to all of her appointments and enjoyed seeing the ultrasounds of the babies. Steph held off on learning the sex of the babies. She wanted to share this experience with Ranger and if he wasn't available, she would settle for Bobby. He was coming to visit in a few days. Her work for Rangeman as Michelle Sandman went well. She had to laugh at an email Michelle received from Lester that compared her search skills to a former employee. If he only knew…

Bobby's first quick visit back came over the 4th of July holiday. He called her from the airport and she drove up to get him. It had been a spur of the moment trip and he didn't tell her he was coming. When he saw her at the airport, he was shocked by how large she had grown. She was almost 7 months pregnant by this time, but looked about full term. He hugged her and felt a swift thump on his stomach. He pulled back and looked down. Steph laughed and said, "One of the double trouble just saying hello to Uncle Bobby."

He got in the car and drove them back to the farm. On the way, they talked about how she was feeling, how things were back in Trenton and unfortunately, he had to tell her that no one had heard from Ranger yet, although Tank was able to find out that he'd been making all of his check-in's on time, so they were hoping it was going to over soon. She caught him up on the farm, especially about "her" horse. Seems the horse took a liking to her baby bump and each time Steph goes to see him, the horse nuzzles her bump and the babies kick at it. He asked some questions about the babies and found out that she's been feeling okay, just tired and can't walk too far at one time. She complained that the last time she rode to the mall with Elaine, she ended up sitting in the food court most of the time because she was too uncomfortable to walk.

The next day, he loaded Steph and his mom into his mom's car and drove them into town for the parade and carnival. He brought along a chair for Steph and got her situated to watch the parade. He took a quick walk and came back with a lemonade, funnel cake and bag of cotton candy for her. She happily accepted it all and sat back to watch the parade. When the flags came by to start the parade, Bobby snapped to attention and saluted. She knew he was ex-military, but he'd never shown anything like this before around her. The parade took about an hour and then Elaine went off to join her friends at the Bingo tent. Bobby ended up taking Steph back to the house. She tired and feeling a bit nauseous. Bobby reminded her of what she ate at the parade and she tried to punch him in the stomach, but it was too hard to do anything to him. He laughed and helped her into the house. He got her situated in the living room and she insisted he head back to town. She teased him that Dr. Sarah always asked about him at Steph's appointments. He left her and she promised to call him if she needed something.

She watched the television for a bit and then had to use the bathroom, again. She hauled herself off the couch and headed down the hall to the bathroom. She had just finished washing her hands when she heard a knock at the door. She walked over to it and opened it. She looked up and just stood there, unable to move or speak.

"Babe?"


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

Steph stood frozen in her spot. Ranger looked at her and said, "Babe? Babe are you okay?"

"Ranger?"

He said, "It's me Babe." She started to sway a bit and he reached out and caught her before she hit the floor as she fainted. He scooped her up and carried her into the living room and laid her on the couch. He went into the kitchen and got a bottle of water and wet a few paper towels. He walked back out into the living room and used the paper towels to wipe her face, still she slept on. He covered her up with one of Elaine's handcrafted quilts and sat down in a chair across from her. He was shocked by the obvious baby bump and he needed to know what was going on with her. Why was she here of all places? What happened in Trenton? Who knew she was here, besides Bobby? And most importantly, was that his baby?

He was lost in thought and didn't hear the door open until Bobby stood in the doorway, looking at him. "Ranger?"

"Report." The tone of his voice caused Bobby to snap to attention and he started talking. Ranger motioned for him to sit down and they talked. Bobby explained about her running from Trenton, how he stopped her in the building before she could head out of town and that decided to bring her here. Bobby explained about her new identity so she could continue to work and get the health insurance she needed. He also said that she'd been in contact with Lester, however, he had no idea where she was staying. Only Tank knew where she was and Hector knew her new name, but not where she was. He explained her reasoning for running and Ranger agreed it was the best thing for her to do.

They talked for over an hour before Steph started to stir. She opened her eyes and saw Bobby, but not Ranger. "Hey, nice nap?" "Bobby, I had the strangest dream. I was here alone and someone knocked on the door and when I opened it, it was Ranger. I think I ate too much food at the parade. Maybe it was the cotton candy that caused the dream."

"Baby, it's not a dream, look over there," and he pointed across the room from where he sat. She gave a gasp and within two seconds, Ranger had crossed the room and pulled her into his arms. She started crying and laughing and then punched him in the arm. He was taken back for a moment and just kissed her. They both poured months of loneliness and frustration into the kiss. When they finally broke apart, she punched him again in the arm and said, "Look what you did to me!"

He laughed and helped her sit down. "Babe, I'm so glad you're okay. I missed you so much. This was the last job for me. I'm officially retired from the army and can spend all of my time with you and Rangeman."

He knelt down in front of her, rubbed his hands over her belly and kissed her baby bump. "Hello little one, I'm your daddy. I hope you are being good for your mommy." He felt a kick at his cheek where it had been resting on her bump.

Bobby smirked and Steph laughed. "Carlos, it's not a little one, it's a little two. When you do something, you go big. It's twins."

Ranger looked up at her and then dropped dead away onto the floor. Steph laughed and Bobby came over and hauled him onto the couch, with Steph moving down to one end. They put Ranger's head on her lap and he brushed her fingers through his hair while they waited for him to wake up. It didn't take long, only about five minutes. He turned his head to look up at her and said, "Twins? As in two babies?" "Yep, you overachieved again." She laughed and leaned down to kiss him. "We need to decide what we're doing. I really like it here and am not sure that I want to go back to Trenton. I don't want to you give up Rangeman just because of me."

Neither of them noticed that Bobby stepped out the room to give them privacy. He knew where this conversation was headed and he didn't want to be involved. He knew that Stephanie really enjoyed being here. She was so much more relaxed than she was in Trenton. Bringing her here was a turning point in her life and he was glad he did it. She never would have survived the gossip about Ranger and the babies back home, and he questioned if she would have been able to have a healthy pregnancy. He shook his head at the mentality of the people in that town.

He also knew that Ranger would be willing to live anywhere in the world as long as Stephanie was with him. His time away from Rangeman on the government jobs, proved that the company could run itself without Ranger being in the building. He had previously talked about expanding the business and opening a location in Chicago or Kansas City. He'd wait and see what they decided before he brings that up again. If Ranger did open an office in the Midwest, maybe he'd think about transferring back close to his mom, and to a certain doctor…

It was about an hour later when Bobby walked back into the living room. He had to smile at what he saw; Steph was sitting on Ranger's lap and was sound asleep with her arms wrapped around his chest. Ranger had his feet propped up on the coffee table and his head tipped back and was also sound asleep. Bobby draped the quilt across them and left the room. He headed to the kitchen to wait for his mom to return home. Elaine came home soon after and was excited to see the sight in the living room. She had Bobby go out to Ranger's car and get his bag. She headed upstairs to make sure Stephanie's room had enough supplies for both of them. She hoped that they didn't head back to Trenton before the babies were born.

A little bit later, Steph woke up and sat there staring at Ranger. She reached up and stroked his cheek and he opened his eyes and looked at her. She smiled and said "I can't believe you are here." He kissed her and helped her stand up. She headed off to the bathroom and he went into the kitchen. Elaine was cooking supper and Bobby was setting the table. She saw him and went over and gave him a big hug. "Carlos, I'm so glad you are here."

"Thank you for letting me show up unannounced and stay here with you. I didn't expect to find Bobby or Steph here though."

Steph came back in and they all sat down to eat. Elaine asked if Ranger needed any medical assistance and he said no, just some bruises and scrapes. They talked about the farm and the life here compared to Trenton. Elaine looked at Ranger and asked how long he could stay. He looked at Steph and smiled when he said, "As long as you'll have me. I'm not in a hurry to go back to Trenton right now. I will eventually have to go back, but I have time. You and Bobby are the only ones that know I'm back in the States, and I'd like to keep it that way for now. Steph and I have a lot to talk about."

Steph helped Bobby clear the dishes and get the kitchen clean up while Ranger and Elaine sat at the table and talked. "Thank you for letting Steph stay here. I can only imagine what shape she was in when she first got here, but now, she looks incredible and can handle just about anything."

"Carlos, it's been a pleasure. I hope you don't plan to drag her back to Trenton before those babies get here. This is my only chance to play grandma, neither of my boys are heading in that direction and I'm getting older. I want babies to play with and cuddle."

"I plan to stay with Stephanie wherever she is and for however long she'll have me. I've been thinking about cutting back my participation at Rangeman in Trenton and have had some thoughts of expanding to this section of the country. It wouldn't be in this area, but there are several larger cities within a 250 mile radius. Steph seems relaxed here and you know from my previous visits how being here has helped my problems."

Steph and Bobby came out of the kitchen and she walked over to Ranger. She had an apple in her hand and asked if he wanted to take a walk with her. He let her lead him out the back door and they headed towards the barn. There was a horse waiting for her at the fence and she walked over to him. "Hi Dudley. This is Ranger. He's a good guy."

"Ranger, this is Dudley. He's played the role as my therapist since I've been here. We "talk" every day and I only have to pay him in apples." While she walking, Dudley leaned over the fence and nuzzled her baby bump. Ranger stood spellbound at the interaction and laughed when he saw the ripple from her bump as the babies made their presence known to Dudley.

"Babe, Dudley and I are acquainted. I've stayed here a few times when I've gotten back from a job when I'd needed more time before coming back to Trenton. I've also "talked" to him and have even taken him out for a ride." They stood talking to Dudley and feed him the apple. Dudley kept moving his head from one to the other for the attention and finally they said goodbye to him and headed back to the house.

Steph led Ranger up to her bedroom and he grabbed some clothes out his bag and headed for the shower. Steph was sitting, looking out the window when he returned. He was holding a bottle of his shower gel that she had brought with her. "Babe, did you steal this from me?"

She laughed and said, "Of course I did. I needed to have you with me even when you weren't physically here. I also have a few of your shirts."

They got into bed and he pulled her to him. He wrapped his arm around her and settled his hand on the babies. They gave a few kicks and he rubbed her belly trying to calm them down so Steph could get some sleep. They had almost fallen asleep when he finally asked, "When are you due?" "Officially in about 7 weeks, but Dr. Sarah said it would probably be a week or two earlier because of the twins", she said. They both slept soundly that night and didn't even hear Bobby pop his head into the room to check on them. He left with a smile.

The next morning, they all sat down together for breakfast. Bobby mentioned he had to head back to Trenton and Ranger asked him to keep his whereabouts quiet for a bit longer. He and Steph still needed to talk, but his plan was to stay here with her and find them a house to live in and scout out the area for a new office. He was really leaning towards an office in one of the metro areas. They were all within a 5 hour drive, even faster by plane. He would need the core team's approval, but he didn't think that would be a problem. They handled the company without him when he was out of country, and it was rolling along just fine.

Bobby went up to pack his bag and Elaine headed out to the barn. Ranger asked her what she wanted to do, stay here for a while or forever, go back to Trenton and deal with the gossip, or move to another city, where a Rangeman office was nearby.

She looked at him and said, "I really like it here in this area and would love to stay, even after the babies are born. It would be a great place for them to grow up. Is staying here with us going to be a problem for you?"

"Honestly, I feel at peace when I'm here. I've come here a few times in the past after getting back from a job and have come to enjoy being here. We can look for a house in town if you want before they babies get here. I need to head back to Trenton at some point to clear somethings up, but I plan to come back to stay with you, wherever you want to live. I love you Babe and want to spend the rest of my life with you." With that being said, he pulled a ring box out of his shorts pocket and held it up to her. "What do you say? Spend forever with me?"

Steph sat there crying and nodded her head. He slid the ring on her finger and gave her a kiss. He leaned down and gave the baby bump a couple kisses as well. He pulled her up from her chair and hugged her. Bobby came back down and saw Steph crying. "Hey, what's going on?"

She stuck her hand out and showed him the ring. He smiled and pulled her in for a hug. "I'm so happy for both of you."

Ranger offered to drive Bobby to the airport, and then he planned on stopping in town at a realtor's office. On the drive, Bobby gave him the name of a good realtor he knew and they talked about opening a new office in the area. Bobby offered to help scout locations and was willing to transfer to it once it opened. Ranger thru an idea at him of making the office be in one of the larger metro areas and then having smaller offices in the state's larger cities. Sort of a satellite extension. For example, make a corporate office in Chicago to handle that metro area, but then also have a local office in Iowa City or Des Moines. Bobby was all for it and would help Ranger sort out the details to present to the rest of the core team when Ranger decided to officially return to Trenton.

After dropping Bobby at the airport, Ranger took the time to drive around and search out areas he'd want to live in and then stopped at the realtor's office that Bobby recommended. Turns out this was another one of Bobby's classmates from high school and promised to get back to Ranger the next day with a few places lined up. He stopped at the grocery store and picked up a few of Steph's favorites and then headed back to the farm.

The next day, Steph had an appointment with Dr. Sarah and Ranger went along. Steph introduced him to Dr. Sarah and then she smirked at Steph. "No wonder you always smiled when you talked about him, look at all that yumminess." They listened to the heartbeats and then set up for an ultrasound. "Now that Mr. Yummy is back, do you want to know the sex of the babies?"

Steph looked at Ranger and he said it was up to her. She agreed to find out, stating it would make setting up the nursery easier. Dr. Sarah moved the wand around for a few minutes before finally pointing to the screen. She said, "This baby is proudly showing off his parts, so it's a boy. The other one is a bit shyer, but I'd say that it's a girl. So it's one of each." Ranger leaned over and kissed Steph and they both had tears in their eyes while they waited for Dr. Sarah to print off the photos. They set up the next appointment and Steph asked Ranger to drive by the florist before they left town and then drove back to the farm, anxious to share the news with Elaine. Steph had gotten Elaine a huge bouquet of flowers, some pink and some blue, and had the florist wrap them up so they wouldn't been seen before it was opened.

Elaine was in the kitchen having a cup of tea when they walked into the house. Steph presented her with the flowers and said, "We found out the sex of the babies and thought we'd have some fun sharing it with you." Elaine opened up the flowers and exclaimed, "Oh my goodness, there's one of each. How lucky you must feel." She kissed them and went to find a vase for the flowers.

Steph sent Bobby and text and said she had her appointment and they found out the sex of the babies and it was one of each. Bobby's reply was a bunch of happy face emoji's and reminded her how great the names Robert and Roberta were for the babies. Steph laughed and showed it to Ranger.

The next week went by quickly and they were able to find a house to buy. It was on a small acreage, on the outskirts of town so Steph was still close to the stores and hospital, but it was not right in the midst of everything. It had a couple out buildings, including a barn in case they ever wanted to get a horse. The house was an older home, probably built in the 1940's and had been updated over the years. It looked like a typical farm house from the outside, but inside it was gorgeous. It had the original hardwood floors and staircase and bannister. There were four bedrooms and had two full bathrooms, including one in the master bedroom as well as a half bath on the main floor. There was a basement that Steph had yet to see, the steps were steep and Ranger didn't want her to slip. It was mainly used for storage, but did have a small wine cellar area and had the potential of becoming a family room, with some creative remodeling. They went shopping for some essential furniture so they could move in and then did some online shopping for the babies' room. For now, they would share one room, but they had the space to separate them when they got older.

Finally it was time for Ranger to head back to Trenton. Steph had about 6 weeks to go before her due date and he planned to only spend one week in Trenton before coming back out. He was planning to load up his furniture and move it out, along with a few other things he wanted to bring to the house and new office. He broke it to Steph that he'd have to bring the core team out at some point to help get the new office going and he hoped she would be okay with seeing them again. She reassured him that she didn't mind the guys, it was more the non-Rangeman people in Trenton she was avoiding. Elaine drove him to the airport, as Steph was so much larger now and couldn't fit behind the wheel of the car to drive.

Tank picked him up at the airport and pulled him in for a manly hug. "It's been too long Ranger. Everything go okay?" "Good to see you too Tank. The job finished up fine, but I need to talk to the core team when we get back. Can you text them to be waiting in my office when we get there?"

They pulled into the garage and Ranger noticed Steph's old beater car in the garage. He looked at Tank and asked about it. Tank wouldn't look at him and just said that there were some things they needed to talk about upstairs. Ranger let it drop because he knew the answer, but he wanted to give Tank a hard time.

They walked into Ranger's office and were greeted by Bobby who said, "long time no see Ranger", with a laugh, by Hector who welcomed him back in Spanish and by Lester, who wouldn't make eye contact with him, just mumbled a brief "welcome back". Ranger looked at Lester and said, "What did you do this time?"

Lester finally looked at him and said, "It's Beautiful. We lost her. We don't know where she is and she's been gone for almost six months."


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4

It was all Ranger could do to not laugh. Bobby had turned to look out the windows because he was on the verge of laughing. Lester looked so defeated and Ranger knew he couldn't let it go on anymore.

"You didn't lose her. I've seen her and know that she's safe where she is at, and we'll discuss this more later. Right now I want to talk about something that I've been thinking about for a long time."

"What? You know where Steph is at and she isn't lost?"

"Isn't that what I just said? We'll discuss Stephanie later. Right now, I want to talk about the future of Rangeman. I'm now officially retired from the army and there will be no more government sponsored jobs. I've done a lot of thinking and feel that we, as a company, are ready to expand to another section of the country."

There was no chatter among the men. They knew there was big changes coming ahead for the company and for them individually.

"I want to expand to the Midwest. There are four metro areas all within a 300 mile radius of where I've decided I am going to move to."

Lester started to say something but Bobby smacked him on the back of the head. Ranger continued, "My time away from here has shown me that this company doesn't need me to be in the office for it to run efficiently. I will be moving and opening a local office in the town I'm moving to and it will serve as a satellite office for the main office in the metro city we decide to open. Any questions?"

They all sat quiet for a minute and then started speaking at once. Ranger whistled to get them to shut up and then he told them a bit more.

"Bobby, I want you to lead the research on the metro cities in the area, you know which ones I'm talking about and once you get a report put together, we'll meet as a team and make a decision. Once the city has been decided, I will let you help decide which location. I will need to have a manager for that location, as well as a few other main staff members. I plan to hire most of the staff once we get there.

"Now, about Stephanie. I have seen her and spent some time with her in the past week. She is fine and well and wants me to pass along her hellos to you all. She left town, as you know, shortly after I left on my last job, for a reasons that only she will share with you. She has no plans of coming back to Trenton to live, but perhaps someday to visit. Her friends and family do not know where she is, just that she is fine. That's how it's going to continue to be, she will reach out to them when she's ready.

"I will be loading up a truck at the end of this week and moving my belongings, both personal and business, and moving out to where she is located. If you want to help with the move, please let me know. I will be driving a moving truck and I have two cars of my own I will want to have driven out. That's all for now and please remember that this is confidential information about the expansion, and about Stephanie. I will inform all of the staff, in all of the buildings, when it's finalized. Bobby, please stay behind. Dismissed."

With that, Tank and Lester headed back to their offices. Lester hoped that Steph would call him soon, he needed to question her some more about her whereabouts. Tank headed back to his office and sat thinking about if he wanted to move.

Hector was slow to leave the room. He looked at Bobby, who was still seated, and Ranger, who was still standing in the room. "Ella es Michelle Sandman, ¿no?" Bobby looked at Ranger and saw that he was okay with telling. "Sí, ella es Michelle Sandman. Y antes de preguntar, no, ella no está viviendo en el área de Atlanta." Hector just smiled and walked back to his office.

Bobby motioned for Ranger to sit down and pulled out his laptop and showed him what he's found so far for each of the metro areas. They went through each one and over the course of the next hour, they narrowed it down to Chicago or St. Louis. Ranger said he'd plan a trip to each city and meet with a local bonds office to get the feel of the area and if the company would prosper there.

"How is Steph and the babies doing?"

"She's doing well, as well as can be expected with her due date closing in on her. I want to get through everything here in the next few days so I can make a quick trip to Miami to see Julie and get a few things from my house there that I want to move. We found a house on the edge of your town that Steph fell in love with and using your friend the realtor, we bought it. We've put the basic furniture in it right now so it's livable until I get back with the rest of my things, but I would feel better if she would stay with your mom until I get back. Can you make that happen?"

"Sure, I'll call my mom when I get back to my office. She can use her mother's guilt and get her to stay a few more days. I know I was just there, but can I be part of the caravan back?"

"Wouldn't want to do it without you, man. I owe you a big thank you for your help with Steph and her flight from town. I know that without you helping her, she would have come back here eventually and would have had to deal with her family about the babies. I assume you'll be asking for a transfer to the new office? I know you like being close to your mom and I've heard rumors of a certain, lovely obstetrician that lives in the area and who peppered Steph with questions about you at the appointment I went to with her."

Bobby just smiled and said, "Yes, to everything. How are Robert and Roberta doing?"

Ranger just laughed and said, "They are good, really active, especially at night, which makes Steph tired. We will NOT be using those names. Save them for your own kids."

Once Bobby left, Ranger put a call into Julie and it was decided he would go down in two days for the night. He told her he wanted to talk to her about a few things and wanted to do it in person. He also assured her that it was nothing traumatic, just news that he wished to share in person. Once his call ended, he headed up to his apartment and started sorting through his belongings. He called Ella and filled her in and she showed up with a stack of moving boxes, bubble wrap and tape. He left most of his kitchen belongs behind, as he wanted to pick out new with Steph. Ella helped him box up his personal items from the shelves, as well as his books, music and videos. She wrote on the outside of each box what room it should go into, as well as a short list of what was inside the box. The worked for about three hours and had most of the apartment packed. He had marked a few pieces of art work he wanted to take, as well as some of the furniture. He was leaving a lot of the furniture behind, as this apartment was part of Rangeman and could be used by whoever stayed behind as the manager for this building. He knew that most, if not all, of the core team would want to move once they found out he was moving to be with Steph. She had a way of bringing them together. And once the company found out about the babies, he might have a problem keeping anyone in this building.

The next few days went by quickly, He pulled the core team together and told them about the two cities he had narrowed the search down to and they each batted around pros and cons for each. He made the quick trip to Miami and Julie was beyond excited about Steph and the babies. They called her and Steph was glad to hear from them. She told Julie that the house had a bedroom for her and when she comes to visit the first time, they will go out shopping so Julie can decorate it however she wishes. Before Ranger headed back to Trenton, Julie gave him a plastic jug that she had filled with sand from the beach. She said she knew that Steph loved the beach and thought having some Miami sand would make her not miss it so much.

Ranger got back to Trenton and found the guys all waiting in his office for him. He quirked an eyebrow at them and Tank said, "We all want to go on this trip with you. We can divide up the driving and drive straight through if you don't want to stop for the night and we can help with the new location search."

"Ok, that's fine. Get packed for about 2 weeks away from here and we'll leave at 6 am tomorrow."

All except Bobby left the office and he walked over to Ranger. "Are you going to warn Steph that the whole gang is heading her way?"

"I told her to expect the core team at some point, but I better call and let her know it's going to be sooner rather than later."

The next morning at 6 am, the core team left on the journey. Ranger was driving his Porsche, with Hector. Tank and Bobby were in the moving truck and Lester and Hal were in Ranger's truck. Ranger had finally told them where they were headed and that he had spent some time there with Bobby's mom after bad missions and had come to like the area. He made no mention of Stephanie. When he talked to her the previous night, she asked him not to let on that she was there yet. He planned to have the guys go to the house and not to Elaine's right away. He wanted to get the truck unloaded before setting them loose on the farm, and Stephanie.

Fifteen hours later they pulled into the driveway of the house. They got the truck unloaded and then Ranger told the guys to camp out in the house for the night. He stepped outside and called Steph to tell her they were at the house. He said he'd bring them over for breakfast, so if she could tell Elaine to be ready to feed the group. He'd pack her up and move her back into the house after breakfast.

The next morning, Ranger got the guys up and they drove over to Elaine's house. Bobby got out and led the way into his mom's house. Elaine was in the kitchen, but Steph was nowhere to be seen. He looked at Elaine and all she said was "Dudley." Ranger went out the back door, heading to the barn. Steph was standing there talking to Dudley and the horse was nuzzling her belly again. Ranger could see the babies moving around and stopped walking, totally mesmerized by the scene. She looked so beautiful, looking like she belonged on the farm. Dudley gave a snort and Steph laughed. She turned around and saw Ranger. He got to her in a few steps and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her and then dropped down to kiss the babies. "Babe." "Ranger, man of so many words! I missed you and you were only gone a week. Did you bring the guys?"

"They are in the kitchen, probably eating everything Elaine made and not leaving any for us. Should we go in and see them?"

"Sure, I missed them so much and can't wait to see them. Especially Lester."

Ranger walked her into the back door and saw the guys were all seated at the table, heads down, chowing down on a breakfast feast. He nodded to Steph and they each fixed a plate and sat down at the two empty chairs at the table. None of the guys looked up until Ranger said, "Babe, would you pass me the syrup?" She took the bottle of syrup and handing it to Lester, said, "Les, would you pass this down to Ranger?" "Sure thing Beautiful." And then it hit. "Beautiful?" Steph started laughing and the rest of the guys looked up and automatically started smiling. Lester looked at her with a big grin on his face and pulled her in for a hug and kiss on the cheek. He looked down at her belly and said, "You seem bigger than I remember. Did you put on a bit of weight?"


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5

Ranger reached over and smacked Les on the back of the head. "She's pregnant you idiot."

"She's here. Did you know that she's here and not lost? I've been so worried about you."

"Les, I'm okay, we're okay", she said, rubbing her belly. "I've been here since I left Trenton. A good friend led me here to heal and I've decided to stay here permanently." She looked at Bobby and smiled at him. He truly was a guardian angel.

"The babies are due in a few weeks and I hope that you'll all still be here to meet them. I know I'll need lots of help. I'm not sure how much help you can provide, but for starters, we have a house to furnish and a nursery to get ready."

Lester kept staring at her and rubbing her belly, as if she was just a figment of his imagination. "Beautiful, you said babies, how many do you have in there?"

"Well, guys, there's two of them. One of each variety. When Ranger does something, he does it to the extreme level. I missed you guys so much but there was no way I could have come back to Trenton to see you without my family finding out. I've been thinking about reaching out to my grandmother, she's the only one that's ever cared for me and supported me until I met all of you." She started to tear up and Ranger stood up and pulled her into his arms. "Babe, I think I speak for the men when I say that they are all behind you and would do anything for you, maybe even change diapers." Lester started to say something but Ranger smacked him on the head again.

Steph wiped her tears and looked at the table full of her guys. They were her guys, always ready to help and protect. She knew now that the babies were in good hands if something ever happened to her and Ranger. She smiled at them and said, "Ok, I'm going to hold all of you to the diaper changing. Now, who's ready to paint and move furniture?"

They all stood up and pulled her out of Ranger's arms and each took their turn hugging her and rubbing her belly. A few even bent down and talked to the babies. Ranger stood there wondering what had happened to his former military men and former gang members. Then he realized, it was Steph. It's always been her. She's their ray of sunshine and the reason most of them smile. Their lives weren't easy and even though they are great guys, they scare off the general public. She broke through the tough guy persona and brought out the fun loving, and in some cases, goofy guys. He shook his head thinking that his entire core team would be relocating here, either in the local office he was putting together already or in the office in the bigger metro area. He'd have to put together a new core team for the Trenton office.

They all helped Elaine with the breakfast dishes and then headed back to the house. Ranger helped Stephanie pack up her belongings and moved her into the new house. Their bedroom had a temporary bed, which would be moved into one of the extra bedrooms. Ranger had brought his bedroom set from the apartment, which they both loved. The guys were already working to move the beds around and the living room now had the stack of boxes that would go on shelves that needed to be bought and hung.

Steph had made a list of what was still needed, mainly kitchen items and the babies' room. Ranger handed her a credit card and had her take Bobby with her to get the kitchen items. He wanted to shop with her for the baby items, but it wouldn't be right then. He wanted to stay and help with the rest of the furniture and help Hector get started on the wiring for the computer and security systems.

Bobby drove her to the nearby college town and on the way, they talked about Dr. Sarah and if he was moving back. They pulled into the parking lot of the mall and he helped her into one of the larger department stores. He walked behind her while she pointed out items to the sales clerk, who then made a note of what Steph wanted. She was on a mission to outfit the kitchen and the bathrooms today. By the time they left the store, the back of the car was full and he then headed to the other side of the mall. This late in her pregnancy, there was no way Steph could walk across the entire mall. He parked by the door and helped her into the local discount store, which also had groceries. Three shopping carts full later, they were back in the car and heading back to the farm.

He got about 5 miles away from the mall when Steph let out a small gasp. He glanced over at her and asked if she was okay. "Yep, they are just kicking really hard today and I've had a back ache most of the morning."

"Steph, are you having contractions?" "I don't think so, just some back ache and a few twitches."

Before he could say anything else, she said, "Oh shit. My water just broke."

Bobby flipped a U-turn and headed for the hospital. He told Steph to call Ranger and he picked up his phone and called Dr. Sarah. Steph hit the button on her phone for Ranger and he answered on the first ring. "Babe, did you max out the credit card and are calling for a new one?"

"Nope, the car is full of everything we bought, but something came up, or rather I should say, it came out."

"Babe?"

"My water just broke. Bobby is calling Dr. Sarah and we're heading the hospital. Want to meet us there?"

"Babe, are you okay?" "Yep, just peachy. Sorry about the mess in the car. Hopefully it will come out of the carpet."

"Babe, I'll see you there shortly. Tell Bobby to drive carefully and to not leave you alone until I get there."

"Okey dokey, just hurry up. I don't think your kids want to wait much longer.

Bobby hung up his phone at the same time as Steph. "Ranger will meet us there and you are not supposed to leave me alone." "Dr. Sarah will be there shortly, said to get checked in and she'll see us shortly."

Bobby pulled into the emergency room entrance and helped Steph out the car. He grabbed a wheelchair and pushed her in and was promptly escorted to the elevator and they headed up to labor and delivery. She got changed into a hospital gown and hooked up to the monitors. Bobby was pacing in the room and she had to laugh at him. "Sheesh, you look like you're the father. Sit down and relax. I've only started having contractions. It's not like they're just going to pop out and land on the floor." Bobby looked at her, horrified at the thought that they would do what she just said.

Dr. Sarah and Ranger got into the room at the same time. Ranger came over and gave her a kiss. Dr. Sarah sat down and asked a few questions and then did a check to see how far along Steph was at this time. She looked up and asked how strong the contractions were and Steph answered that it wasn't too bad. Her back was bothering her a bit, but otherwise, just some cramping. "Well, that will probably change soon. You're about halfway right now. Try to get some rest and if you feel up to a trip to the whirlpool, just holler. Sometimes that helps with the back pain. Even though you're about 5 weeks early, the babies are doing well. The nurse will be in to give you a steroid shot to give the babies an added boost. If you have any questions, just ask. Now is not the time to be shy." She walked out of the room and Bobby followed her into the hall.

Ranger climbed into bed with Steph and held her while she worked through a contraction. "Ok, that one was bad. If they get worse, I don't know if I will be able to handle it."

"Babe, you are the strongest woman I've ever met and I know you can do this. I'll be with you the entire time. How about you try to nap for a bit and I'll stay here with you."

Steph relaxed for a bit and dozed off and on for the next couple hours. By the end of second hour, the contractions were getting stronger and closer. Dr. Sarah had been in and out the room checking on them, and it was time to check her again. "You're getting closer. Only 3 more centimeters to go. How about a walk down the hall and back?"

Ranger helped her up and got a robe pulled around her. She held onto him and they had to stop about four times in the trip down the hall so she could get through a contraction. They headed back to the room and by the time she got back into bed, she was starting to feel the urge to push. Ranger stepped out into the hallway but didn't see Dr. Sarah. Bobby was sitting there and he jumped up when Ranger came out. "She said she needs to push."

Bobby hit a button on his phone and said "She wants to push" and then hung up the phone. He walked Ranger back into the room and told him that Dr. Sarah was on her way. She had been down the hall checking on a patient who had delivered earlier that day. Steph was sitting up in bed, tears running down her face and was huffing through another contraction. "Get these babies out of me now." Ranger rushed over to her and wiped her face off with a cloth. Dr. Sarah came in and had a gown on and gloves in her hand, ready to delivery. "Let's get a check and then we can see where we're at."

A moment later, she looked up and said, "Are you ready to become parents? The first babies head is crowning, looks like a bunch of brown hair. Want to see?" She motioned to the nurse to pull up the mirror and she helped them see. Bobby took a quick peek and headed for the door. "Hey, where are you going?" Steph yelled at him. "You got me this far, you should stay until it's over." "Are you sure? This is a moment for you and Ranger." "Robert Brown, it you do not get over here, I will tell Dr. Sarah that you're secretly gay."

Dr. Sarah chuckled and said, "Oh no, he's not. I can verify that information!" Ranger laughed and Steph motioned for him to come over and stand on the other side of her. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "I wouldn't be here today without you. Please stay." Bobby nodded and squeezed her hand back.

Dr. Sarah looked at them and then said, "Well, if we're all ready, then on the next contraction, Stephanie, push."

With Bobby on one side and Ranger on the other side, Stephanie pushed for the next few minutes. About 20 minutes later, with the contractions on top of each other and one great big push, the first baby's head emerged. Ranger gave a small gasp and they all looked in the mirrors that were set up. With instructions from Dr. Sarah, Steph pushed the rest of the baby into the world. With tears running down her cheeks, she said, "Which one is it?" "Congratulations you two, your daughter has arrived. She looks good, a bit small, but that's expected with twins." Dr. Sarah put her on Steph's chest and they all laughed. She looked exactly like Ranger, same facial features and skin coloring except for Steph's crazy hair. She didn't have a lot of hair, but what she had was curly. They all gave her a kiss and then the nurse took her to clean her up.

"Ok, one down, one to go", said Dr. Sarah. The contractions started back up again and this time it went much faster. Steph pushed about 10 minutes before their son was born. He came out screaming and when he was put on her chest, he stopped crying and looked at her with a blank face. "Oh god, he has your face Ranger. Totally blank!" They laughed and he was the exact opposite of his sister. He had Ranger's silky black hair and skin coloring, but all of Stephanie's facial features, except for the stare. That was all Ranger. A second nurse came and took him and soon after, Dr. Sarah finished up with Stephanie and both babies were brought over. Stephanie held the girl and Ranger held the boy. Dr. Sarah said they would be taking them up to the NICU as a precaution, but from what she could tell right then, they were both healthy. Both weighed a bit over five pounds and both were eighteen inches long. Bobby snapped a few pictures of them and then stepped out of the room, giving the new parents a few minutes alone with the babies before the nurses took them to the NICU. He would follow and stay there until Steph and Ranger could be with them.

Ranger crawled into bed with Steph and held her. She fell asleep for about 20 minutes before she woke up with a start. "Did they bring them back yet?" "Babe, they are going to stay there for the rest of the night. Bobby is with them and I'll go up in a bit. Please get some rest." Steph eventually fell asleep again, and this time stayed asleep for about two hours. When she woke up, Ranger was walking back into the room. He had a wheelchair with him and smiled when he saw she was awake.

"Hey, I just saw them and they are both doing very well. Dr. Sarah thought they would be back down here with us tomorrow and then we can take them home the next day. You're allowed to go see them, but you have to ride in the wheelchair."

He helped her out of the bed and got her settled into the chair. They went into the hallway and headed down the hall. They went into the NICU and found the babies. They were the only babies there and had the attention of all of the nurses. One of the nurses took them over to the babies and they were given updates on them. Both were breathing well on their own, and just staying for the night to be observed due to the early birth. The nurses thought they would be good to go home in a few days. Both were sleeping and had been dressed in diaper and colored knitted hat. Their son had his hand in his mouth and their daughter was sleeping all curled up. Both Steph and Ranger gently stroked their faces and once Steph was convinced they were fine, she asked to go back to her room. Ranger helped her shower and get into a clean gown. They fell asleep soon after and when Bobby came into check on them, he covered them up with a blanket and quietly took their picture. He had taken many pictures of the babies, starting with the moment of birth. He didn't think Ranger or Steph noticed what he was doing and he hoped to be able to give them the group of photos before they went home. He checked in with Dr. Sarah before he headed back home for the night. He would be coming back in the morning.

When Steph woke up again, it was morning. The nurses had been in off and on during the night checking on her, but she slept through their visits. When she sat up and looked around, she found a plate of breakfast and a note from Ranger that he'd be back soon. She also noticed a vase of beautiful roses sitting by the window. The card said it was from Elaine and she couldn't wait to meet the babies.

There was a knock on the door and she yelled to come in. Bobby poked his head in and asked if she was ready for some company. She said she was and in walked the five Rangemen, along with Elaine. They all gave her hugs and each had their arms full of baby presents and flowers. They overwhelmed her with their enthusiasm for the babies. Elaine asked how she was feeling and before she could answer, the door opened again. In walked Ranger and Dr. Sarah. Each was holding a baby and walked over to Steph in bed.

"Babe, I got them sprung from baby jail and they wanted to see you." He handed their son to her and took their daughter from Dr. Sarah. "Wow Beautiful, you make beautiful babies", said Lester. "Hey, do they have names yet?" The guys had circled around them and made cooing noises at the babies, but none were brave enough to hold one.

Steph and Ranger looked at each other and then he spoke. "We talked about it last night and came up with their names." He motioned to Steph and she said, "Bobby, we're here today because of you and your unquestionable friendship. You asked no questions, just jumped into action and helped me when I needed it most. We're honored to introduce you to Samuel Ricardo Roberto Manoso and Seraphina Rachelle Robyn Manoso." They both were looking at Bobby and smiled. Steph motioned him over and held out the baby for him. He took ahold of Samuel and then Ranger handed him Seraphina. He looked down at the babies and then at Ranger and Steph. Steph had tears running down her face and Ranger had tears in his eyes. Bobby tried to speak but ended up choking back a sob. After a moment, he said, "The honor is mine. Thank you."

Hector came over and said something in Spanish to her and she looked at Ranger for translation. "He said the babies are very beautiful, but it is to be expected with you as their mother." She gave Hector a kiss and he blushed.

Hal came over and asked if he could hold one of the babies. Bobby handed him Samuel and they all laughed over the baby noises that Hal was making at him. Samuel just stared at him and he looked at Ranger and said, "He looks just like you when he stares like that."  
The guys eventually all headed out but they asked Bobby and Elaine to stay back for a minute. They handed each one of the babies and asked them to be the babies' godparents. Elaine was overwhelmed. "I just wanted to be an honorary grandmother, but godmother is even better. Thank you both. I hope you will call me if you need help once you get home." She kissed all of them and then handed the baby back and went out the door. Bobby just stared at them and said, "Are you sure?" "Bobby, we have no doubts about anything. Steph is right when she said we're here today because of you. If you hadn't gotten her out of Trenton, she would have stayed and probably would have lost the babies under the pressure her family would have put on her. I trust you with their lives and we both want this."

"Ok, I'm beyond honored. The names were beyond enough, even if you didn't use Roberta." They all laughed and Steph said "I wouldn't burden a child with that kind of name. Robyn was a good compromise I think. Why don't you get out of here and go take Dr. Sarah out for dinner." He handed back the baby and then left the family alone. They both sat on her bed, each holding a baby and then the reality of the situation hit home. Both babies started crying at the same time and it smelled like they both filled their diapers. Ranger let out a big sigh and set out to change their diapers. Once he got one changed, he traded with Steph and she worked to feed the baby she had. She was hoping to breastfeed them, but didn't know if she would be able to handle both of them nursing. Just then, a nurse came in the room and helped her get set up for the feeding and once she got going okay, the nurse set up the other baby. The nurse was very helpful with the feeding and had a lot of suggestions for feeding at the same time, how to treat problems that come up and provided her with a special pillow the help with the babies' positioning during the feeding. She provided a stack of booklets and gave their hotline number to call any time of day or night with questions. Both babies fell asleep during the feeding and Ranger took them and put them into the crib that was provided in the room. They planned for the babies to share a crib until they got older. Steph fell asleep soon after and Ranger sat and watched his family sleep. A smile was on his face as he drifted off to sleep, as well.


	6. Chapter 6

Part 6 –

The next morning, Dr. Sarah came in and said they could all go home. The babies were doing great and she wanted to see them in a few days for a check. She said she would come to the house, as Bobby was telling her about it and she wanted a look. She was currently living in a small apartment and they had talked about getting a house together if Bobby was able to transfer to the new Rangeman office.

Steph got dressed and then helped Ranger get the babies into their new outfits. She had bought a few things for the babies while she was out with Bobby the day they were born, but once they were dressed, she realized they didn't have car seats. Or a crib or even diapers. She looked at Ranger and had tears in her eyes. "Babe, what's the matter?"

"Ranger, we have nothing for these babies, other than what they are wearing. We don't even have car seats for them to go home and once we do get them home, we don't have a crib."

"Babe, Bobby brought car seats earlier this morning and we'll figure out the crib when we get home. Don't worry, we'll take care of things. We have five guys waiting for us at home and we can put them to work getting everything we need."

They loaded the babies into the car seats and with Steph being pushed in a wheelchair by a nurse, and Ranger carrying both car seats, they headed out to the car. The nurse helped them get the car seats buckled into the car correctly and then they headed for home. Steph rode most of the way home twisted around in her seat so she could see the babies. "Babe, they're fine. Next time, you can sit in the back seat with them, okay?"

They pulled up to the house and the guys had decorated the front porch with pink and blue balloons tied all over the place. Ranger helped her out of the car and then they each grabbed a car seat and headed into the house. Steph was anxious to be home, but was dreading the thought of trying to finish getting the house put together while taking care of the babies. The front door opened before they could get to it and Elaine was standing at the door. She was smiling and helped them in the house. "I hope you don't mind that I'm here. I thought I would help the boys finish the unpacking and help get you situated."

Ranger smiled and said, "I think you're just what we need right now." He led Stephanie into the living room and they both stood there in shock. The entire room was furnished, even the bookshelves they had talked about getting were hanging on the walls. He turned to Elaine and cocked an eyebrow at her. "The boys worked nonstop to get the house put together for you. I think you'll find that almost every room has been worked on in some way. They are all back at the farm right now, wanting to give you a chance to settle in and they wanted to do some work for me. Said they had to earn their keep with me, as they assumed they would be kicked out of here."

Steph set the car seat down that she had been holding and was taking Seraphina out and holding her close. Ranger did the same with Samuel and then they let Elaine lead them through the rest of the house. The kitchen was almost complete, just missing a few items, but the guys had found a dining set and hutch that worked perfectly with the dishes she had bought. The room they were using as an office was set up with a desk and computer and some bookshelves. Most of the shelves were empty, but there were boxes of things Ranger had brought that needed to be placed on the shelves. Most of the items were Rangeman related and could wait for another time to unpack.

The guest room had been set up with the bed that Steph had used after she moved in and an extra dresser that Ranger had brought. There was a stack of boxes in the corner that they would deal with later. Their room was set up with Ranger's bedroom furniture from his apartment in Trenton and the closet had been filled with both of their clothes and shoes. There was a gun safe on the floor on the closet, which Ranger had brought with him. Their bathroom had the basics set up, as Steph had taken care of this room before she went shopping that day with Bobby.

Elaine led them to the door of the nursery. On the door were two decorative letter S's, one in a girl design and one in a boy design. "The guys have been working the hardest to get this room ready and hope that you like it." She opened the door and they stood them amazed. The nursery was painted a pale grey with white and darker grey accents. In the room were two white cribs, one for each baby, and each had been set up for them. One had pale pink bedding and the other had pale blue bedding. The room also had a white changing table and dresser and a white rocking chair, which had a baby quilt draped over it. The closet door was open and they could see it was full of all sizes of baby clothes. In the far corner of the room were two toy boxes, each with the name of the baby on it. Steph was overwhelmed and was crying. Ranger stood and shook his head. "I don't know what to say. They never said a word about doing this. I knew they were going to finish unloading the truck, but I had no idea this would happen."

"Those guys love you two, probably more than they love anyone else. You are the only family most of them have and they would do anything for you. I convinced them to give you tonight here alone to try and get settled into the house with the babies, but be warned, they will be over tomorrow and you will probably have to kick them out at the end of the day. They are welcome to stay with me at the farm. It sounds like they all want to move here, so you may need to re-staff your Trenton office."

Ranger laughed and said, "I had already figured that much out and I don't even have a building bought yet for the local office. I hope they all don't want to stay here, a few need to move to the metro location when that's determined."

Elaine gave them both a hug and gently kissed each of the babies. "I stocked your freezer and refrigerator, so you should be set for a few days of meals. Don't hesitate to call if you need something." She headed for the door before Steph called out, "Thank you Grandma Elaine. Thank you for everything."

Steph and Ranger looked at each other and each carried a baby to their cribs and put them down. Steph looked sad and then picked up Samuel and put him in the same crib as his sister. She then smiled as they drifted towards each other in their sleep. She looked at Ranger and said, "They will share for a bit until they get too big. Do you think we could move one of the cribs to our room or even downstairs?"

Ranger replied, "Babe, we'll get things figured out later. How about you turn the monitor on and we go lay down. They're not going to sleep for long and we need all the rest we can get."

Ranger was correct, as both babies woke up about an hour later and they started the never ending changing, feeding, and rocking routine. Ranger took over diaper duty since he couldn't feed the babies, and when he walked back into their bedroom with Samuel, she was still feeding Seraphina. She looked up and smiled at him. "She's almost done and then we can switch. She'll need changed." Ranger sat on the bed next to her holding Samuel and was watching Seraphina eating. He was amazed at how at ease Steph seemed and he thought a lot of it had to do with being away from her family. He knew she missed her grandmother and he'd work on getting that changed soon. He knew she had been worried about how she would be as a mother, and so far, she was perfect. The rest of the day passed quickly and in between feedings, diaper changes, and short naps, they were able to get some of the boxes in the guest room taken care of and Ranger spent a little bit of time in the office unpacking his Rangeman boxes. Before they knew it, it was almost midnight. Steph sent Ranger to bed to get some sleep and she sat in the babies' room, rocking Seraphina, while Samuel was sleeping in the crib. She noticed that the baby had fallen asleep so she carefully put her in the crib with her brother and went into their bedroom and found Ranger passed out on the bed. He hadn't even taken his shoes off, having just collapsed on the bed, face down. She took his shoes off and climbed in next to him. She quickly fell asleep and slept until Ranger gently woke her, holding Samuel, saying that he needed to be fed.

Morning dawned and both Ranger and Stephanie looked like hell. She stood in the nursery, watching the babies sleep, with tears rolling down her face. Ranger walked in and gently pulled her into the living room. He sat down on the couch and pulled her into his lap. He wiped her tears and asked her what was wrong. "Ranger, I can't do this. I can't be a good mom to those two beautiful babies. I'm so tired and need a shower. My boobs hurt and I'm hungry, but I'm too tired to get food." He kissed her and said he'd help with everything he could and maybe they should think about getting someone to help for a bit.

There was a soft knock on the front door and Steph got up to open it. It was Lester and Bobby, each holding a box. She could see there were more boxes piled up on the porch. She let them in the house and they went into the living room and set the boxes down. Steph threw her arms around each of them and kissed them, thanking them for setting up the house, especially the babies' room.

"The babies are upstairs sleeping, but should be up soon so you can see them. What did you bring?"

"Beautiful, we brought some other baby essentials that you'll need to take care of our future Rangemen. We have bouncy seats, swings and an extra crib for down here so you don't have to keep going upstairs. And, while we're here, we want to look at the basement with Ranger. He was talking about turning it into a family room. By the way, you look like crap, why don't you go take a nap and we'll get busy down here."

"Gee Les, you really know how to talk to women. I look like crap because three days ago, I pushed two babies out of a space that mathematically seemed impossible. I've been sleeping about 45 minutes at a time for the past two days and everything on my body hurts." With that said, she turned and headed upstairs. Bobby reached over and smacked Lester on the back of the head. "What is wrong with you? She gave birth three days ago to two babies and you tell her she looks like crap?"

Before Lester could reply, Ranger walked into the room and walked over and smacked Lester on the head. "No wonder you don't have a woman. You talk to them like you just talked to Steph? You're lucky your bits are still attached. Now, what's all the boxes?"

They guys spent the next two hours opening boxes and putting together all of the baby equipment they had brought. Before they were done, Hal and Hector showed up. Hal got to work with the building. Hector looked at Ranger and quirked an eyebrow at him. Ranger smiled and nodded his head towards the stairs. Hector went upstairs and a few minutes later, came back down with a baby in each arm. Ranger got up and took Samuel from him and said something in Spanish. Hector replied in Spanish and then they each put the baby they were holding into a swing and turned it on. The gentle motion lulled them back to sleep. More Spanish was exchanged and Ranger headed upstairs.

He found Stephanie passed out on their bed. He covered her up and dropped a kiss on her head. Closing the door halfway, he headed back downstairs. The guys had picked up all the empty boxes and trash and were now sitting on the couch watching the babies swing back and forth. They seemed to be in a trance, unconsciously rocking their bodies back and forth in motion with the swings. He chuckled at them and headed out to the kitchen. He started to put together a list of everything else that they needed for the babies and the house. He divided his list onto three pieces of paper. One the guys could take care of for him, one that he and Steph could get from online shopping and one that they would have to go to the store in town to get. Diapers were at the top of all of the lists. He started a fourth list of what he needed to do to get a local Rangeman office set up. He knew that he'd have to go deal with his core team and the fact that they all wanted to transfer. He headed back into the living room and stopped in the doorway. He looked up and saw Steph standing at the bottom of the stairs staring at his core team, the men who would lay down their lives for each other without question, sitting on the couch, all sound asleep. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and took a couple pictures of them. She looked up and saw Ranger and smiled. He walked over to her and gave her a kiss. They looked at the babies and then at the men on the couch. "Our family", she said. Ranger smiled, "Yep, even though five of them don't belong to us, they're still our family."


	7. Chapter 7

Part 7

Before they knew it, the next six months had passed. Ranger was busy setting up his local office in the nearby college town and he had narrowed down the metro area to the western suburbs of Chicago. He was still looking for a building, but didn't think it would be much longer to get that office opened. Tank had officially transferred to the new local office as the manager, with Bobby and Lester joining him. Hal and Hector wanted to work in the bigger office outside of Chicago and had gone back to Trenton to get things situated there with some of the new staff that had been hired and get their apartments packed up. Cal was put in charge of the Trenton office, and was doing a great job. Big changes were happening in Rangeman and it looked to be for the better. Ranger made a few quick trips back, but never for more than a day or two. He couldn't stand to be away from Steph and the babies. Bobby was currently there, taking care of a few loose ends of his own and packing up the rest of his apartment. He and Dr. Sarah had found a house and were moving into it in a few weeks. Steph hoped there would be a wedding soon.

Stephanie and babies had settled into a routine fairly quickly. Both babies were surprisingly easy to handle. Steph had always worried about being a good mother, but even she could tell that she was doing a good job. They were growing right on schedule and Dr. Sarah was happy with their eating and sleeping schedules. Steph took them to Elaine's about once a week and she finally introduced them to Dudley. She held each baby up to him and he gently puffed at them. She still talked to Dudley, but now it was about the babies and how much she enjoyed living here instead of Trenton.

Elaine had stepped in the grandmother role quickly and once a week watched the babies so Steph and Ranger could go out for grown-up time. Steph appreciated all of the help she got from Elaine, but still, she was missing her grandmother. Ranger didn't say much about the subject, but she knew that if she asked, he would make a visit happen.

The babies were currently laying on an activity mat on the living room floor while Steph was folding a basket of laundry on the couch. Ranger had been gone most of the morning and it was getting close to lunch time. She heard the kitchen door open and heard footsteps coming into the living room. She kept folding the laundry and didn't look up but said, "Hey Ranger, are you ready for lunch? I can get something put together for you as soon as I finish this basket of clothes."

"Babe? I can wait on lunch, but I think you should come into the kitchen with me for a minute. I have a surprise for you. The babies will be okay alone for a moment."

She looked up at him and crooked an eyebrow at him. She'd been practicing and finally had it down and this was the first time she tried it out on him. He laughed and pulled her up into his arms. He gave her a kiss and then pushed her into the kitchen. He was walking behind her and all of a sudden she stopped mid-step. Standing by the table was her grandmother. She let out a squeal and ran into her grandmother's open arms. They both started crying and laughing at the same time. She looked back to where Ranger was, but he had left them alone.

They sat down at the table and started talking. Grandma Mazur told her that Ranger had Bobby fly out with her on the company plane and said she could stay as long as she wanted. She had questions about why Steph left Trenton.

Steph talked about how Ranger had left on a job and the need to leave Trenton (but didn't give the exact reason) and how Bobby helped her and brought her to his mother's farm. Grandma Mazur didn't press Steph for the real reason, but instead, talked about what was going on at home, how big Val's girls were getting, the gossip from the beauty parlor and funeral home, but didn't say a thing about Steph's parents. Before Steph could ask about them, Ranger stepped back into the kitchen and had a baby in each arm. "Ladies, there are a couple of little ones that would like some lunch." Both babies had big cheesy grins on their faces. He handed Samuel to Stephanie and gently put Seraphina into Grandma Mazur's arms. He made the introductions to Grandma Mazur and she started to cry and looked at Steph and asked if this was why she left. Steph said it was and went on to explain the entire story.

Ranger pulled the high chairs over to the table and helped get both kids situated for lunch. He got their bottles and some of the baby food they were starting to eat. He and Steph fed the babies while they continued to talk. Grandma Mazur stated that she thought Stephanie did the right thing in running away, but she wished she would have contacted her sooner than when Bobby called her to schedule this trip. She didn't tell Steph's parents where she was going. She packed her bag the night before and had Bobby pick her up after Steph's parents both left the next morning. Steph looked shocked that she didn't tell anyone, but one look from Ranger confirmed that it was already taken care of for her. He had told Bobby this would probably be the way it would happen, so after they left and were in the air, he had someone contact Steph's mother and state that Grandma Mazur was fine, but was going to be out of town for a while. He got lunch for the three adults and then left the women and babies in the kitchen while he went into his office to work. About an hour later, Steph came into his office and sat on his lap. She grabbed his face and gave him a kiss that got a bit heated. She started to unbutton his shirt and said, "I don't think that I can ever thank you for getting grandma here for a visit. I didn't realize how much I missed her until I saw her. So, the babies and grandma are all upstairs napping, so we have some free time and I could start trying to thank you." Ranger smiled and said, "Babe."

Grandma Mazur convinced Stephanie to contact her parents, just to let them know she was okay. Steph couldn't bring herself to call them, so she emailed them and that started a twice weekly exchange of emails between Steph and her mother. Things were looking better for their relationship and she was hoping that sometime in the near future, she would be able to introduce her children to their grandparents.

Grandma Mazur ended up staying for a month before she got the itch to go back to Trenton. Steph was sad to see her go, but knew that she had her own life back in Trenton. Besides, how would she get all of the gossip if she didn't go to the funeral home?! Steph set her up with a new laptop and email address and promised to keep in touch. The babies had made up with her and would laugh and giggle when they would see her. Steph promised lots of pictures and video calls after Grandma Mazur went back to Trenton. Ranger flew back to Trenton with her and unbeknownst to Stephanie, he planned to visit her parents.

This was the first time Ranger had left Steph and the babies for more than a night and he had his concerns. He asked Lester to move in for a few days and Steph agreed and gave him a smirk that suggested that Lester was in for a lot of diaper changes!

The flight with Grandma Mazur was enlightening. She talked a lot about how proud she was of Stephanie for leaving town and starting her new life away from Trenton. She also quizzed Ranger on what his long term plans were for both his company and with Steph and the babies. Ranger filled her in on his plans and she was delighted. He also got some advice from her on how to handle Steph's parents. He planned to talk to them when he gave Grandma Mazur a ride home after their plane landed.

He had texted Cal to have the 911 Turbo parked at the airport so he could give Grandma a thrill on the drive back to Trenton. He had the top down and she was loving it. They pulled into the driveway and Steph's mom was at the door. He helped Grandma Mazur out of the car and helped her up to the porch and then went back for her bags. Mrs. Plum opened the door for him when he came back and he walked into the house. For a change, it was quiet. The previous times Ranger had been there, Steph's sister and her family was there and it was loud and crazy. This time it was just Mrs. Plum at home. They went into the kitchen and she pour them all a cup of coffee and pulled out a plate with a coffee cake on it.

"It's good to have you home mother. Did you enjoy your trip?" asked Mrs. Plum.

"You betcha I did! Saw me some fine looking men and a new part of the country. Made a few new friends and will hopefully go back for another visit soon." She looked at Ranger when she said this and he gave a small nod.

"Mrs. Plum, I'd like to talk to you and your husband about Stephanie. Is he home now or should I come back later today."

"He should be home in a few minutes. Is Stephanie okay? She went so long without talking to us and now we're just getting emails from her."

"Stephanie is fine. I've been with her for the past few months and there's a few things I'd like to discuss with you and your husband."

Grandma Mazur excused herself and Ranger helped her carry her bags upstairs to her room. She gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek before he went back downstairs and told him to fight for what he wanted and not let her daughter try to walk all over him. He looked at her and laughed. "Do you really think she'd be able to 'walk all over me'?" They both laughed and he went back downstairs and into the kitchen.

Mr. Plum had returned while he was upstairs and the three of them sat at the kitchen table. Ranger looked at the both of them and then said, "I want to let you know that Stephanie is fine. While I was on my last government job that took me out the country, she made her move to leave Trenton. Fortunately, one of my men found out what she was doing and took her to his family farm in the Midwest. She is thriving and better than she was before and I know it's because she's not here in Trenton. She's not the main topic of gossip and she's not constantly getting pushed around by her so called friends. She's enjoying her life for once and really has no plans of coming back here to live."

Mr. and Mrs. Plum both sat with their mouths hanging open. For once, Mrs. Plum kept her mouth shut and didn't say anything. Ranger continued, "I realized before I left on that job that I wanted to make Stephanie a full time part of my life. She makes me a better man and I feel that I can take care of her the way she needs to be taken care of in life. I have no qualms about living full time where she's at and I'm currently in the process of opening up another major branch office of Rangeman in that area. What I mainly came here today for is to let you know that she's fine, she's thriving and if you want to get back into her life, you'll need to follow some basic rules."

Steph's parents both sat and nodded their heads. Ranger could see that they both had tears in their eyes. This time away from Stephanie hopefully has shown them how important she is in their lives.

"First, I'd like ask for permission to marry her. She doesn't need your permission, but I know that she would want it. Second, I know that she's been emailing you and I'd like to encourage her to continue that and at some point, have her call you. Third, eventually, I'd like to fly you both out to where we are living. There's been a lot of changes to Stephanie and her life, and I'd like to have you both see how better she is doing. I will not allow anyone to talk down to her or question what she's doing with her life. She's got a tremendous responsibility and takes pride in what she's doing. Do you have any questions?"

They both sat silently for a moment before Mr. Plum asked, "Would you take her a letter if I write one to her? I'm not good at the computer stuff and if we can't call, I'd still like to communicate with her."


	8. Chapter 8

Part 8

Ranger made arrangements to come back at the end of the week and pick up whatever they wanted to give to Stephanie. He headed to Rangeman and met with the guys that were there. Cal had taken over the management of the office and Ranger was happy with his success. Cal wanted to give up the 7th floor apartment while Ranger was back, but Ranger insisted it was Cal's now and he stayed in one of the open ones on the 4th floor. Once he got settled in for the night he called Steph. She was in a different time zone and he realized it was time for the twins to go to sleep. Lester answered her phone and sounded in a panic. "What's the problem Lester?"

"Ranger, you have to come home. I can't do this anymore. They cry when they see me and won't let me touch them. I can't help Steph when they act like this, what is wrong with your kids?"

"There is nothing wrong with my kids, it's you, you idiot. You talk too loud and they don't like it. Have Steph call me when she can, I'm in for the night so she can call whenever. Don't break my kids." He hung up the phone and laughed. The babies did much better with women, except for him. He assumed it was because women tended to speak softer and his men were loud, even when they tried to be quieter, it was still loud. He hoped that Lester would be of some help to Steph.

It was about an hour later when Steph called. She was laughing and it took her a minute to calm down enough to talk. "What did you say to Lester? He's whispering and it sounds painful for him."

Ranger laughed and told her of their conversation. She laughed and agreed with his theory about the guys being too loud. She told him what they had been doing and he let her know that he got her grandmother home okay. He told her about the next day and all of the meetings he had planned with Cal and the accountants. It was the time of year where they went over the finances of the company and all of the building managers had a part to share about their office's status. He also planned to meet with the new hires and make sure they were up to par. He didn't mention Steph's parents at all and she didn't ask. He planned to talk to her when he got back home. They talked for a bit more and then ended the call. He went to bed because he had an early morning.

The rest of the week went almost identically. His calls to Steph every night were sometimes cut short by an uncooperative baby, but he seemed relieved that she was doing okay without him at home. Before he knew it, it was Friday and he was ready to load up and head back to his family. He had a few more surprises to bring home with him but first he had to stop at the Plum house.

He pulled up to the front of the house and Mrs. Plum was waiting at the door for him. He walked up to the door and she smiled timidly at him. They walked into the kitchen and he found a box of things waiting for him. She smiled shyly at him and they sat down. He said nothing and waited for her to speak.

"Ranger, I now realize how much you love my daughter. I knew you always were there for her, helping her when she needed it, giving her a job when she needed money, but now I can see you love her. What you said to us the other day proved it to me. No one else had ever stood up to me like you did and I admire you for it. I know I'm not a perfect mother, especially when raising Stephanie. I didn't know what to do with her when she didn't act like her older sister or even how I acted growing up. She's a free spirit and needed to go out on her own to find her way. I can see now how she takes after my mother."

Ranger still said nothing but nodded to her to continue. "In this box are letters from both her father and myself. My mother said she'd rather continue with using that computer to talk to Stephanie. I've also included a few of her favorite foods and hope that she will enjoy them when you get them back to her."

Ranger stated that he was going to make a few stops of his own to stock her up on a few things she loved, especially from Pinos. They made small talk for a few more minutes before he got up to leave. He turned around at the door and looked at Mrs. Plum. "I will do whatever I can to help Steph in life and I hope that someday that includes bringing her back here for a visit, or bringing you to her." With that said, he walked out and got in the car. He stopped at Pinos and filled up a cooler with subs and pizza for her and drove to the airport.

When he got to the plane, he carried his things on board and found the last surprise already on board. "Julie, you've grown so much since I saw you last." He hugged her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Gee Ranger, it's been almost a year and I'm almost 16 years old now."

They sat down and got buckled in when the pilot stated it was time to take off. He talked to her the entire flight back to Steph. She told him about school and the hunt for a part time job. He asked if she wanted to work at RangeMan in Miami and she said she'd do that if she couldn't find one on her own. He told her about Steph moving while he was out of the country, but he didn't tell her why. He talked about the expansion of Rangeman and how her "uncles" were now living by Steph. He didn't tell her about the babies, he wanted that to be a surprise for Julie.

The flight took about 3 hours and when they landed, he could see Lester waiting for them at the airport. Julie ran off the plane and jumped at Lester. He caught her and spun her around before really looking her over. "You can't be little Julie, she's just a little girl." Julie punched him in the arm and they both laughed. He helped Ranger get everything loaded into the car and they took off. He had texted Lester about surprising Julie with the babies so that topic was not discussed on the car ride home.

They pulled into the driveway and Ranger had Julie wait in the car. He went inside and couldn't find anyone. He walked all over the house and finally saw them in the back yard. The guys had built a backyard paradise for the babies, and they would appreciate it more when they got older and could do everything, like the rock climbing wall, but for now, they had two baby swings installed and both babies were squealing and laughing as Steph pushed them. It didn't hurt that she was making funny faces and talking in a funny voice to them. They saw Ranger and started to babble. They weren't saying dada yet, but they were making a sound close to it. Steph heard them and said, "Yes, daddy will be home tonight. We sure miss him, don't we?" More babbling and then Ranger cleared his throat. Steph turned around and stared at him. Then, she launched herself at him and put kisses all over his face. He spun her around, which made the babies laugh more. He helped her get the babies out of the swings and then walked her around the house to where the car was parked.

"I brought home a few surprises for you Babe."

Julie opened the door and jumped out. She stood there staring at the babies. She looked from Ranger to the babies and then back to Ranger. Steph pushed the baby she had into Ranger's arm and ran over and grabbed Julie. They hugged and just held each other until Steph said, "So Julie, do you want to meet your brother and sister?"

Julie was speechless. Steph made the introductions and Ranger handed her Samuel. He gave her a gummy smile and grabbed her hair. He gave a yank and squealed. Ranger helped untangle her hair and Steph said that they were both doing that now. They all went inside, with Lester carrying the cooler and then going back out for the box from the Plums. The cooler went into the kitchen and Ranger told Steph to open it. She looked inside and threw her arms around him. "All of this for me?" she asked. "Well, not all at once. I thought you might like to invite the other guys over tonight and we'd share with them." Ranger said.

Steph looked at him and then at the food in the cooler and then back at him. She was biting her lower lip. "Babe, you can't it all and it won't last too long before it spoils."

"Alright, I suppose. Lester, call the other stooges and have them come over now to eat."

Pretty soon the house was full of Rangemen. Tank, Hal, Hector, Lester, Bobby and Dr. Sarah were all there and were all enjoying the pizza from Pinos. Steph agreed to share the pizza but wouldn't give up the meatball subs. She ate one sub and put the other ones away for later. Ranger looked at her and shook his head. "What? I'm sharing, just not everything."

Once everyone ate, the guys and Dr. Sarah took Julie and the babies into the living room to play. The guys had bought so many toys for the babies that they had to put a toy box in the living room just to keep some sense of order in that part of the house. Ranger led Steph into the kitchen, sat her down and then pulled the box out and set it on the table.

"Babe, when I took your grandmother home, I had a talk with your parents." He could instantly see her stiffen and she put a hard look on her face. "Babe, I didn't tell them much, just that I was with you and you were okay. I did not tell them about the babies and I am sure your grandmother will not tell them either.

"I set some ground rules for them with the hope of someday getting back into your life. I gave them time during the week to decide what they wanted and when I stopped by this morning, your mother had this box put together for you. I have not looked at anything so I'm not sure what's all inside. Why don't you take some time alone in here and look at what she sent. I'm going to head into the living room and make sure Lester doesn't whisper to the babies anymore."

Steph looked at him and just nodded. He dropped a kiss on top of her head and walked out of the room. She sat and stared at the box for a bit before getting up and opening a bottle of wine. She poured a glass of liquid courage before opening the box. On top was a container of cookies. Steph set it down and opened it. She pulled out one of the cookies and started munching. Next out came a container that held a chocolate cake, complete with shaved chocolate swirls all over the top. She set that aside and then reached in for the last container. She smiled when she saw the pineapple upside down cake. She set it aside and reached for another cookie.

The only things left in the box were three envelopes. They all had her name on the outside and she could see that they were from each of her parents and one she presumed was from her nieces, based on the fact her name was written in crayon. She opened that one first and pulled out a pile of colored pages with notes about missing Aunt Stephie. She smiled and decided she'd send the girls an email and thank them. Maybe she'd someday have Val bring them out for a visit.

She held onto the other two envelopes and hesitated before opening them. After having another cookie and another glass of wine, she opened the one from her dad. Her dad wasn't much of a talker. He worked hard at his job while she was growing up and was enjoying his retirement. He picked up a part time job driving a cab, but that was only to get away from her mom on occasion. His letter was short and to the point. He stated that he wished her happiness and if that meant not living in Trenton than that was fine. As long as she was happy, he would be happy. He apologized for not running interference all of the time with her mother and for not playing a more active role in her life. He said he trusted Ranger to take care of her and he hoped that he could see her again sometime soon. He didn't like to use a computer so if she wanted to talk to him and didn't want to call, she could write a letter back to him. She smiled as she folded the letter back up and set it down. She was going to need another glass of wine before opening the remaining envelope.

Ranger poked his head back in a bit later and found Steph sitting at the table with tears running down her face while she read the letter from her mom. He could see the now almost empty wine bottle and the near empty cookie container. He knew this was hard for her but he knew it must be done. She needed to either reconcile with her family or have closure to end of their relationship. She couldn't live in limbo with them forever. He walked up behind her and put his arms around her. She dropped the letter and turned around in her chair to hug him. She buried her face in his neck and sobbed. He picked her up and pulled her down on his lap as he sat down in a chair. He just let her cry, she needed to get it out. When she stopped crying he tipped her head up to look at him. "Thank you Ranger. I know it wasn't probably easy to talk to my parents."

"Babe, anything for you. Are you okay with what they put in their letters?"

"Yes, my dad's was what would have expected from him. He wants me to write back if I don't want to call. It was my mom's letter that pushed me over the edge. She basically apologized for everything bad that she has ever said or thought about me. She realizes now how much you have done and still do for me and how no one else ever did, including herself. She wants to open up our communication more than a few emails and letters. She's asked me to call her and visit when I feel up to it. Would you be upset if I did?"

"Babe, it's entirely up to you. I will support you with whatever you decide to do. I just wanted them to know that you were okay and if they want back into your life, they have to make some changes."

"Thank you again. I love you."

"I love you too Babe. Now, let's share the chocolate cake with the guys because I know you won't share the pineapple one and you pretty much finished off the cookies. Was this a full bottle of wine?" he laughed at her. She smacked him on the butt as she walked to the cabinet to get plates and forks for the cake.

They walked into the living room and were met with a scene that they never thought they'd see. All of the Rangemen were sitting on the floor in a circle with the babies in the middle. The babies were rolling around and laughing. Julie was in the circle with them and would tickle one of them when they stopped rolling. Ranger cleared his throat and the men all looked up. He raised an eyebrow and Tank responded, "They kept rolling out of the room. We penned them in because we got tired of chasing after them."

Steph looked at him and shook her head. "They are not cattle that need to be herded. It's just going to get worse when they start crawling and eventually walking and running. You can dismantle your fence, I have cake to share."


	9. Chapter 9

Part 9

Julie was able to stay for two weeks and when it was time to take her back to Miami, Steph decided that they should all take her back. She hadn't been outside of Iowa since her arrival and was a bit antsy to see the beach. She packed more than enough for the babies, but was still questioning if she had enough. Ranger kept telling her that they could buy what they needed, but she didn't want to be unprepared.

The plane landed in Miami and they walked out into bright sunshine. They loaded up the SUV that someone from Rangeman had left for them and they headed towards Ranger's beach house. He'd never brought Stephanie there, but Julie had been there a few times. He pulled up to the gate and punched in the code and they were headed towards the house. Steph looked at him and said, "Just a house on the beach Babe…yeah, right Manoso. This is a McMansion Ranger." He just laughed at her.

They walked inside and Steph immediately walked to the back of the house where she could see a wall of windows. She stood and stared outside. The beach and the ocean were right there. She could walk outside and be right on the beach. In fact, the backyard had a pool and cabana and a small patch of grass, but the rest was beach. She walked back to him and gave him a big kiss. "I don't know if I'll ever want to leave."

The babies loved the beach. Ranger built sandcastles and they demolished them and laughed. It was a chore to keep them from eating the sand, but all in all, they had fun. Julie had convinced Ranger to bring the babies to her mom's house and Rachel got quite a laugh at watching Ranger try to keep the two babies under control. They were now getting the hang of crawling and usually took off in different directions.

They ended up staying over a week before Ranger stated it was time to head back home. Steph looked at him and said, "Which home?" He laughed and said "Anywhere is home as long as you're with me." That got him a kiss.

He put the babies down for their afternoon nap and headed into the bedroom to help Stephanie pack for the trip home. He found her sitting on the bed, piles of clothes all around and she was just staring out the window. "Babe, what's wrong?" "I was just thinking about how much fun your family had when we let them meet the babies. It got me thinking about my family and what they're missing out on."

"Babe, anytime you want to go to see your family, just let me know. It is entirely up to you if and when they meet the babies. I'd like to see if happen before we get married so everyone can be there, but it's up to you. I'm not going to rush anything for you and will support any decision you make about the situation."

Steph reached over and put her arms around his neck. She pulled him in for a kiss and said, "How did I ever get so lucky to find you?" She kissed him and then looked in his eyes. "It's time to go to Trenton. Can we go in the morning instead of going back to Iowa?" "Babe, anything you want. I'll make some calls while you finish packing. Remember, we can buy what we don't have once we get there. You don't need to pack everything in the closet." He gave her a kiss and left the bedroom, smiling the entire way to the kitchen.

He pulled out his phone and sent a few texts to the guys at the RangeMan office in Trenton and one to the pilot to let him know the change of plans. He then texted Edna to let her know what was going on and when they would be in town. He wanted to make sure that she would be at the Plum house when he brought Steph and the babies over. Her response was "Hot damn. Can you bring that cute doctor-man of yours?" so he knew she was on their side. He just hoped that after his talk with Steph's parents, that the babies would be welcome into their family. He sent a text to Bobby and let him know that him and any of the other guys that wanted to, should fly to Trenton for the reunion. He told Bobby that Edna specifically asked that she wanted Bobby to come. Bobby replied with a "groan" via text. Ranger laughed and make a few more calls before going back to help Steph.

The next morning, they loaded up the SUV and headed to the airport. Once the flight took off, the twins fell asleep and Steph sat on Ranger's lap and rested her head on his chest. He knew she was nervous about what was going to happen in a few hours, so he just sat with her and reassured her that everything would be okay. She looked at him and said, "You have met my family, correct? Nothing is ever "okay" with them."

Once they landed, they were met by Bobby and Lester in one of the SUV's from the Trenton office. Steph laughed when she saw them and ran to give them a hug and kiss. "Gosh Beautiful, someone might think you missed us." She punched him in the arm and laughed. They helped unload the plan and carefully got the twins buckled into the car seats. Both were still sleeping and didn't wake up until they pulled in front of the Plum house. Steph looked up to see her grandma standing at the door and gave a small sigh of relief when her mother was nowhere to be seen. Steph jumped out and ran up and gave Edna a hug and kiss. Edna held on to her a bit longer than in the past and just smiled. "Now, where's that cute doctor-man?" Steph turned around to look for Bobby and saw him coming up the sidewalk. He walked up to her grandma and gave her a big hug and kiss on the cheek. "Edna, I hear you asked for me to come along. What's up?" Edna looked at him and said, "Nothing, just wanted to see you again. You're just really hot looking!"

The guys all laughed at Bobby and carry the now awake babies into the Plum house. Lester and Tank headed out in the SUV and took everyone's things to the RangeMan building. The Manoso family would be staying in one of the empty apartments, as Cal had taken over the top floor when he took over as manager of the building. Bobby agreed to stay at the house to help run interference if needed. They all settled down at the kitchen table and the babies were munching on cereal snacks when they heard the front door. Ranger looked at Steph and said, "Ready Babe?" "As I'll ever be, let's get this over with." They stood up and walked into the living room to find Steph's parents hanging their coats up in the closet. They turned around at the same time and saw Steph and Ranger standing in the doorway. Frank walked over and pulled Steph into a hug. While hugging her, he reached a hand out to Ranger and said, "Thank you." Ranger shook his hand and turned to look at Ellen. She was still just standing in the same spot and staring at Steph. Frank let go of Steph and wiped the tears off her face. "Welcome home kiddo. We missed you." "Thanks Daddy. So far, it feels good to be back. Why don't you head into the kitchen? I brought home a surprise." Frank looked at Ranger who nodded slightly. Frank walked into the kitchen and then Ranger turned to face Ellen. "Mrs. Plum" and nodded at her. He backed away a bit and stood watching the stare down between mother and daughter. It only took a few seconds, but soon they were in each other's arms, both with tears running down their faces. Ranger stepped into the kitchen and found Frank sitting with both babies in his arms. The babies were patting his face and pulling his hair and he was all smiles. "Thank you Ranger. You've taken care of her, all of them, and finally brought her home." Ranger sat and didn't say anything. He'd let Steph tell him when they would go back to Iowa.

Back in the living room, mother and daughter were still hugging. Mrs. Plum was apologizing for everything that had happened in the past and finally Steph said, "It's the past, let's leave it there. We can begin again, starting now." Her mother nodded in agreement and Steph said, "Let's go see what I brought you." She ushered her mother into the kitchen and smiled at what she saw. Her dad had the babies still in his lap, his hair was all messed up from them playing with it and they were shoving cereal snacks into his mouth. Edna was flirting with Bobby and Ranger was just sitting, taking it all in. He looked up when she walked in and saw her smile. Mrs. Plum walked into the kitchen and stood staring at her husband. She looked at the babies and then back to Stephanie who was smiling.

"Mom, meet our children. They are almost 8 months old now and are starting to cause trouble, just like I did. We'd like you to meet to introduce you to Samuel Ricardo Roberto Manoso and Seraphina Rachelle Robyn Manoso."

Mrs. Plum reached over and took Sera from her husband and hugged the baby close to her. "They're beautiful, just like the two of you." She had tears running down her face and Mr. Plum handed her Samuel as well. She sat down at the table holding the babies and looked at them. "Tell me how you chose their names. They are such lovely names."

Steph smiled and said, "We didn't find out their sex until Ranger came back from his last mission. We wanted something similar but not rhyming. We wanted their names to be unique to them and still we were able to honor some important people in our lives with their names. We had decided on Samuel for the boy, and decided to go with Seraphina for the girl. Samuel was a name we both had on our lists of possibilities and Seraphina is the name of one of Ranger's grandmothers, who died when he was in high school. Ricardo is Ranger's first name, Ricardo Carlos, and Rachelle is a variation of my middle name, Michelle."

"What about Robyn and Roberto?" asked Steph's dad.

Steph walked over and stood behind Bobby. She put her hands on his shoulders and said, "Those names are after a good friend, who was there for me when I felt I had no one else and who took care of me and the babies. We're all very lucky to have him in our lives. So, once again, thank you Bobby." She gave him a kiss and the cheek and walked over to hug Ranger. Her mom looked at Bobby and smiled. "Thank you for taking care of our daughter and grandbabies. She is lucky to have you as a friend."


	10. Chapter 10

Part 10

The stay in Trenton went well, which surprised Steph. After they left the Plum house, they drove to RangeMan. The Manoso family stayed in one of the open apartments at the RangeMan building and while it was tight fit for the family of 4 in a 1 bedroom apartment, Steph loved it. She loved being back in the building with all of the guys and the babies were so loved by the guys.

When they pulled into the garage, Lester was waiting for them. Lester kissed her on the cheek and then helped grab their bags. They all piled into the elevator and stopped at the 4th floor and went down the hall to the apartment they were staying in for their time in Trenton. Lester had opened the door and they were happy to see that there were two portable cribs set up in the living room. Lester told them that he went out and bought them and he hoped they were the right things. "You know there is a lot of baby stuff out there!"

Lester played with the babies while Ranger and Steph unpacked. She unloaded the small cooler with their bottles and after a quick diaper change, they had the babies set on the floor, with their bibs on while Steph and Ranger fed them a quick snack. After a clean-up and another diaper change, they all headed up to the control room. Lester got out the elevator first and called the guys to attention. When Ranger and Steph walked out holding the babies, the floor was silent. Steph looked at Ranger and said, "I think we broke them." Samuel let out a loud screech and clapped his hands. That seemed to pull the guys out of their stupor and then all came over to see the babies. They were passed around between the men and both the babies seemed to be intrigued with the visible tattoos on some of the guys, Cal's especially. Ranger and Steph were hugged and eventually the babies made their way back to them. Steph announced the information about the babies and that they were comfortably living in Iowa, which shocked some of the men. Ranger then announced that pizza and beer after shift were on him at Pino's. That got a roar from the guys, which made the babies yell too.

The men in black descended upon Pino's and ended up shutting the place down for the night. Ranger made sure that Mr. Pino knew that he would take care of the tab for everything and if it wasn't enough to cover closing down the rest of the restaurant for the night, just tell him the difference and Ranger would take care of it. Pizza and beer were flowing all evening. Steph's family showed up about an hour into the party and eventually some of the Trenton PD showed up, as well as Mary Lou, Lula and Connie. They were all surprised to see the babies, but once Steph's story came out, they agreed she did what was needed. To say they were shocked to hear that most of the gang had moved to the Midwest was an understatement. Lula couldn't decide what was more surprising – Steph living on a farm or that she had the babies. Everyone wanted to hear about their new lives and see pictures.

The twins fell asleep about two hours into the party and Mr. Pino set up an area behind the counter for them to be laid down on blankets. By the end of the evening, most of the Rangemen had left, going back to their apartments or reporting for their next shift of work. Ranger knew that he'd have a hard time keep staff in Trenton now that they all knew about the babies. Maybe he'd have to start a rotation that would move guys from all of the offices around so they could experience all of the locations.

There were just a few people left at Pino's when the door opened and in walked Joe Morelli. Ranger glanced over and saw him before letting out a big sigh. The sigh caught Steph's attention, and she followed his line of sight. She also let out a big sigh and walked over to see Joe. "Joe." "Hey Steph, I heard chatter in the office that you were back in town. Where have you been?" he asked. Steph chuckled and said, "It's a long story. Want any pizza and beer? We can go sit down and talk." She walked over behind the counter to check on the babies, who were both still asleep. Ranger walked over to her and asked, "Are you okay with this?" She nodded and said, "I knew I would have to face him eventually, but with you and the guys here, it should go okay." She gave him a brief kiss and walked over to where Joe had sat down and sitting down across from him, she started to talk. Before she could get too far into the story, she heard "mamamamamamama". She smiled and before she could get up, she caught the blur of movement coming across the floor. Samuel had crawled over to her and was trying to pull himself up, using her leg to hold onto.

Joe looked at her with wide eyes and watched as she pulled Samuel up and sat him on the table in front of her. Samuel reached out and grabbed her face and proceeded to "kiss" her, the whole time saying "mamamamamama". She kissed him and turned him around so Joe could see him. "Joe, meet my son, Samuel. Sammy, this is mama's friend Joe." Sam looked at him and said, "ohohohohoh". Steph kissed the top of his head and said, "What a big boy you are saying Joe's name." He giggled and reached out his arms to Joe. Joe looked at Steph and she said, "Do you want to hold him?" He nodded and she put Samuel into his arms. Sam reached up and started to play with his hair. Steph laughed and said, "He's fascinated with hair all of a sudden." Steph continued on with her story while Joe was sitting there holding Samuel. Before she got to the part where Ranger came back, she heard another sound from across the room. Sera was awake now too and was looking around for someone to get her. Before Steph could get up, Ranger was on his way over and picked up his baby girl. She smiled and "kissed" his face and snuggled into him, just like Steph liked to do. Ranger walked over to the table and Steph moved over so he could sit down. "Morelli." Joe nodded and said, "Manoso." Sammy looked at Ranger and said, "dadadadadadada" and reached out to Ranger. Steph tried to take Sera, but she wouldn't let go of her daddy. Ranger ended up with both of the babies in his arms. Joe sat staring at them, and couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Joe, meet our daughter Seraphina. Sera, this is mama's friend Joe." Sera wasn't as outgoing to strangers as her brother and just hid her face in Ranger's chest. Steph smiled and said to Joe, "She's a little shy around strangers. Give her some time and she'll be messing up your hair too." Joe said, "I think you should finish your story." Steph finished her story and by the time she was done, Joe was nodding. "You did the right thing Steph. The burg wouldn't have been easy on you if you would have stayed. I'm glad you found somewhere safe to go and you are doing well." He looked at his watch and said, "I need to get going. I have to be on shift in a few hours. How long are you staying?" Steph looked at Ranger, who raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't know, we haven't talked about it yet. We just got here today. I'll call you and try to stop by to see Bob before we head back. I'm sure the kids would love him."


End file.
